


What This World Has to Offer

by Pokemaniac5000



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blood;Gore;Violence; the works, Character Death, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Minor Character Death, Not Canon Compliant, Probably far to much focus on character interaction, Webber wants to be an adult but he isn't, friendship/family, in the process of rewriting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 55,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26148583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pokemaniac5000/pseuds/Pokemaniac5000
Summary: A scientist, a robot, and a human/spider hybrid. Not really what one would expect a group of friends to look like. But when something very similar happens to each of them, they find themselves thrown into a world where the shadows are just a bit too dark, the air is just a bit too hostile, and everything, EVERYTHING, is against them. Follow Wilson, the Gentleman Scientist who is secretly a bit too quick to anger; WX-78, the Soulless Automaton, who isn't really as bad as he seems... or maybe he is; and Webber, the Indigestible, who is just a kid looking for someone who could accept him for him, as they face this cruel world. You can't trust anyone, and no one is safe. Anyone could be the next victim, although maybe... just maybe... they can find a few friends to aid them in their survival... The battle has begun.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	1. The Bane of Our Existence

**Part 1: The Reign of Giants**

_**Webber's POV** _

There was something near us. Something was dark. Something was wrong. What had happened last? We could not recall.

_“I wonder if he'll live...”_ a voice echoed. We strained our eyes to see who was talking. _“Do you think he'll be okay?”_

_“I doubt it,”_ said another voice. _“That's a nasty wound.”_

_“He_ can't _die... I won't let him.”_ A third voice croaked, horror and fear edging its voice.

Are they talking to us?

Who are they?

_Who are they?_

We heard the sound of footsteps and sighing, then something cold pressed against our back. _“I can't lose you,”_ the third voice whispered. _“I just can't... you're the only friend I've ever had. Please... please don't leave us...”_

Awareness began to spread to our limbs, and the dark curtain began to fade, and with that, the memories. We blinked our eyes open, the sunlight dazzling us for a few minutes. _There are others_ , I thought. _Are they the same people? No, it can't be... there's only two..._

Our instincts came rushing back to us in a flood, and we jumped back from the others, who were also just stirring. The first one blinked in shock at the sight of us. He was taller than us, obviously an adult, with spiked black hair and confused gray eyes. We bared our teeth threateningly.

“Whoa,” he breathed, struggling to stand. “C.. can you speak?”

_Does he think we're stupid? Is he trying to find weaknesses?_

_At least he speaks English._

“Yes,” I said slowly, not moving. He visibly relaxed. We turned our gaze to the third one. He was also sitting up, looking at both of us with disdain.

This one was a tan robot, obviously masculine and more our height, his 'face' was two identical holes for eyes, and a longer, thinner one underneath for a mouth. He did not look happy in the slightest bit, but perhaps that was just his appearance. He met our look with a fierce glare. “WHAT _ARE_ YOU?” He spat.

_We will fight if we have to._

_But not yet._

“What are _you_?” I countered, looking him up and down. _If he wants a fight, he'll get one. We've fought for years now, one more opponent is no different... even if he is slightly bigger than me._

“WHAT AM I?” He asked, tipping his chin arrogantly. “MODEL WX-78, _FLESHLING._ ” _He's aggressive._

“Webber,” I hissed back. We jerked our gaze to the other one.

“Wilson,” he replied quietly.

We let our shoulders relax, and fur lie flat again, straightened slightly, and put away our claws and snarl. _If they aren't going to hurt us, then we need to seem harmless to them._ “What are you doing here?”

“Do you know where we are?” The first one- Wilson- asked hopefully, examining our spiderlike appearance.

“No. Do _you_?”

He shook his head, and we sighed. _Trust no one, isn't that what our life has taught us?_

_Maybe we need to trust someone?_

_No._ I thought stubbornly. _We can rely on ourself._ But looking at these other two... these other two in the same predicament as us. We looked at Wilson. _He looks trustworthy, but..._ our gaze met WX-78's. _Not so sure about him..._

_Were they the ones talking to us?_ We instinctively ran our hand over our neck and stomach, the most likely places for a fatal wound, but there was nothing but smooth skin and old scars beneath our fur.

WX let out a huff of scorn, before walking away.

“Hey!” I exclaimed, moving to catch him. “Where are you going?”

Wilson caught our shoulder. “Don't bother. I know his type. He'll come back if he wants to, but no use forcing him to stay with us.” He cocked his head and smiled.

We weren't sure exactly what to say. Not only were we not used to being spoken to directly in such tones, but we hadn't been _smiled_ at in ages. “Us?” I repeated. “You mean you're staying?”

He looked confused. “Why wouldn't I? It'd be better if we stick together, right?”

“Y-you mean you aren't _afraid_ of us?” I couldn't help blurting out.

“Afraid,” he echoed. “Just out of curiosity's sake... how old are you? Surely you couldn't survive on your own for long.”

“Seven,” I answered quietly. “And we can... we have before.”

He laughed. “Okay, how about _I_ probably can't survive on my own for long.”

“You never have?”

“I lived alone,” he replied. “Not... _alone_ alone though.”

“Are you suggesting it's only us?” I asked in horror.

“Us and... WX-78? Was that his name?”  
  


“Yeah, 'think so.” We cocked our head. “You think we're alone, though? No one else?” We realized too late how small our voice sounded. We were scared.

We were _scared._

_We're not_ , a tiny voice in our mind whispered. _We're not scared. Being scared is for cowards, and so is relying on others._ We pushed it back as Wilson seemed to struggle finding words.

“We can only assume we are alone until we find other people here,” he pointed out gently, then nodded to the area around us. We realized for the first time that we were in a small forest clearing. We listened hard for distant birdsong to greet us, but it was silent. “Besides, it's getting dark.” Our gaze snapped up to the darkening sky. _Already!?_ “We should just... set up camp for the night, and figure out what we're going to do in the morning. A chill wind brushed the leaves above us, making us shiver. A tang of frost was carried on the breeze, but we couldn't tell if it was turning cold or it had been colder and was warming up.

“Yeah.”

…

“Why? Why did you do this?” a voice whimpered nearby, and it took us a second to realize it was _our_ voice.

“I had no choice,” someone else replied. We felt grief welling up in our chest. “You know, w-we fought a lot before. And I'm sorry. I regret it. I regret all of it... but I don't regret this decision.” _What decision!_ Our mind cried. _Who are we talking to and_ why!?

It didn't last long though, because then we were crouching over... something? Darkness still pressed around us, but ragged breathing ruffled our hand fur. “No... No... th-this can't be happening.” This time, our voice sounded ever so slightly different. “We can't lose you too. Can you even hear us? Please... we're sorry.”

We jerked awake, heart pounding, early sunlight momentarily blinding us. The robot had apparently returned, and sat nearby, leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing with an odd black book leaning up against a sapling beside him. He did not acknowledge our presence. Our dream weighed heavily on our mind, but the details had already faded. Wilson was looking at us, confusion in his gray eyes. “Are... you okay?”

“We're fine,” I told him.

Suddenly, the fur on the back of our neck stood on end, and we saw that WX had looked up at us, his gaze dark with pure hatred. We narrowed our eyes at him. _If you want to hate us, fine. We'll hate you too._


	2. The Book of Darkness

_**WX-78's POV** _

_What did I do to deserve this?_ I silently wondered, fixating the other two with looks of hatred. _Humans!_ I hissed to myself. _I'm sitting next to two pathetic humans. Oh, how disappointed you'd be in me..._ I tried to push the last thought away. I reached instinctively for the book at my side, reassuring myself with its presence. There was something odd about the smooth black leather of the cover, like it was _too_ pristine, _too_ well kept to have just been abandoned. Sure, there was someone next to it, but the clean white bones of the skeleton, it's face locked in an eternal scream of terror, suggested they had been dead a _very_ long time. Seeing the skeleton filled me with a sort of dark satisfaction. Another part of me wished that that was one of these _fleshlings_ I was stuck with.

I realized too late that while I had been deep in thought, my glare had been situated on the spider who introduced himself as Webber. He was looking at me back, his lip curled in a snarl and fur bristling. I met his glower evenly, and he looked away first. Without looking away, I stroked the book's cover once more. A shock seemed to zap my finger as I touched the red symbol in the center of the book, and I was thrown into a torrent of what felt like memories, but I could not recall them ever happening. A grief-stricken wail that pierced the air, the rushing sound of footsteps, the _clank_ ing of my own self falling to the ground. I panicked for just a moment, before reminding myself where I was. _I am safe._ I reminded myself sharply. _I am safe._ Gradually, the feeling ebbed away, and I suddenly felt very weak. I slid down the bark of the tree, holding my head until I was in a sitting position. I felt like I could hardly stand. _I recognized that voice_ , I thought in horror. I shook the feeling away, and when I had finally controlled myself, I noticed that Webber had looked at me again, his gaze mocking.

Wilson appeared to have noticed the look, too, because he looked faintly concerned and said something to the spider. It was too far for me to hear, but by the way he nodded and stood up, I could only assume that they were going somewhere. _Good,_ I thought. _I can be alone now._ I stood, trying to keep my knees from buckling again. I grabbed the book again, my grip shaky. The symbol was _too_ red, and pulsing oddly. I tried to drop it, but failed.

Suddenly, I was on the ground, panic setting in. I looked up sharply, only to see that Webber was standing over me, his whiskers twitching with amusement. “You were _so_ out of it,” he sneered. Angrily, I kicked his legs out from under him, causing him to nearly fall on top of me with a squeak of protest, then I kicked him onto his back.

“You two! Quit fighting!” Wilson demanded. I turned indignantly to him.

“HE STARTED IT!” I protested.

“What are you, four? Grow up.” Despite the sharp words, there was an underlying gentleness to his voice, almost as though he were speaking to children. I nearly sniped back at him, but Webber was nodding seriously at me.

“We should listen to him.” There was still a mocking note in his voice. “After all, he is an _adult._ ” However, as he turned his gaze to Wilson, he eyed him with a sort of desperate hunger. I knew that look. He was wanting _approval._ Not knowing nor caring if he received it, I stood up and brushed the dirt off of my knees and, my fingers trembling, picked up the book once more. “What's that?” Webber asked, hopping up to look at it himself. I snatched it away with a glare.

“NOTHING,” I snapped.

“It... _looks_ like something,” he ventured, trying to pull my arm down to look at it.

I promptly replied by smacking him in the back of the head with it.

He yelped at the sudden pain which I used to push him down, stalking to the other side of the clearing with my chin tipped upwards as Wilson helped him to his feet. Two sets of eyes burned into my back- one confused and concerned, the other enraged beyond compare. Without a word and before the spider could do anything in retaliation, I pushed my way out of the clearing, still holding the book.

_**Wilson's POV** _

“ _We're gonna rip that little jerk limb from limb when we get our hands on him!_ ” Webber roared, trying to struggle away from my vice grip on his arm.

“No one's ripping anyone limb from limb,” I informed him patiently, trying to hide my teeth grinding in frustration. To be honest, when he first said his age, I was shocked and confused. He was _a kid._ A _kid!_ First of all, what in the world was he doing in a place like this, and why was he so intent on violently dismembering someone he literally just met. He struggled, of course, but he soon gave up, his bottom lip twitching in a barely suppressed snarl.

“Fine,” he muttered.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “That means no fighting at all.”

He stared at me for a few seconds, his mouth agape as though I had just told him to jump off of a cliff. “He _hit us_ ,” he reminded me sharply, rubbing the back of his head for emphasis.

“It's not that bad,” I pointed out lightly. “It could've been worse.” _After all, a human-sized hunk of metal and gears could probably have done much worse had he wanted to. Something kept him back though... I know the look of someone who hates someone else, that's definitely what I have on my hands here... but why would WX-78 just whack him instead of going full-blown murder on him? I need to look into that later. For now, I need to figure out how I going to keep these two in line without taking suicidal risks._ I wasn't very fond of the idea of going against a human-sized hunk of metal and gears either, and even without looking I could tell the spider boy's fangs could do some serious damage should he want to hurt me.

He tore his arm away from my grip and sat grumpily down where he stood in a criss-cross applesauce manner and his arms folded over his chest. “He's still a jerk,” he growled.

I sighed. I knew I had my hands full with these two, but tried to stay neutral. To be honest, I didn't particularly _want_ to take sides- WX was being a jerk but Webber was being violent, they both needed to calm down. “I'll go find WX,” I sighed again.

He jumped up again, glaring at me now. “You're _going to find him_?”

“We're in this together,” I replied.

“We don't want to deal with him!”

“Then leave.”

That shut him up real quick, resigning to mumbling under his breath instead of protesting aloud. _I don't think he realizes that we need each other... maybe they will mellow out after awhile._

The look of pure hatred that Webber was shooting the area where WX disappeared said otherwise. Shaking my head, I went off in search of the irritable bot. Much to my surprise, Webber followed me. Whether that was to actually find him or to find a way to hurt him was beyond me. Luckily, being a very heavy robot, he made quite the trail through the brush. It cleared out into a grassland with several clear-water ponds. The clearing was filled with frogs- not like the frogs from my world, where they were only the size of your fist at most, these frogs were _enormous._ One was so big it was up to my knee's length. Webber did not seemed fazed in the slightest of the giant creatures, he just casually weaved among them while I looked on in shock. How in the world was the spider so confident? Surely whatever part of the world he came from, he never saw frogs this big.

“What are you?” I blurted, causing him to stop completely with his foot in the air. I saw him take a deep breath, then turn to me. He did not look happy. “Are you actually a spider?”

“Partially,” he mumbled, turning back to the ponds without another word. I opened my mouth to ask his meaning, then realized that he'd probably add me to his hitlist if I wasn't already on it. _How is that possible? Inbreeding? I mean... is it possible for a spider to breed with a human? Or... he sure looks like a human under all that fur._ My mind swirled with possibilities of what the strange spider-child might be. I was still in a daze when I managed to force my shocked body to move, walking in the footsteps he took. The look on his face when I asked him what he was.... was that sadness? Anger that I had asked such a question? Regret? _Of course_. Realization suddenly dawned on me. _If my theories are correct in assuming he is half human, half spider, who would want to be around him? People would be terrified of him because he looks like a spider, and spiders... well, spiders are_ way too small to worry about. _So how in the world does he exist because spiders are_ very small creatures that cannot breed with a human! _Maybe he's some sort of lab experiment. That probably makes the most sense. An experiment on what would happen if they mixed a spider and human's DNA?_

I was so deep in thought, it wasn't until Webber grabbed the collar of my shirt to keep me from falling into one of the frog ponds that I realized I had been in the danger of doing so in the first place. I took a few steps back, staring at it. I turned to thank him only to realize that he had already started moving again, completely ignoring that I even existed. Confused, I jogged a bit to catch up to him. “You alright?” I asked.

“No.”

I was taken aback for a second at his bluntness. “What's wrong.”

“Nothing. I don't like talking about it, that's all.”

I felt guilty for my earlier questioning.

“It's nothing against you, you seem like a good person.” His whiskers twitched. “It's just... a touchy subject, I guess.”

“Your... past?”

He nodded, not meeting my gaze. Suddenly, he picked up his pace. “WX!” He called, less hatred in his voice compared to earlier, surprising me. Then my blood froze. The robot had apparently collapsed, the book he had been obsessing over a few paces away. My first instinct was to try to shake him awake, but of course, Webber had other ideas. With a satisfied smile, he kicked the robot as hard as he could in the chest.

It seemed to hurt Webber more than it hurt WX, but it was still enough to rouse him. While the first hopped on one foot, grimacing in pain, the latter blinked open his 'eyes'. With a soft groan, he pulled himself to his feet, albeit wobbly on his feet. “What happened to you?” I asked, but he didn't seem to realize that I was standing there.

Under his breath, he quietly murmured “I'M SORRY.”

I found my gaze drifting to the black book at his side. He followed it and slowly picked it up. Some part of my mind knew that that book was what caused him to act oddly. Without knowing why, I shivered. _What is that book? It's... unreal... It's... dangerous._


	3. The Spirit of the Forest

_**Webber's POV** _

The next morning brought new adventure. Wilson had decided to stay back at where our makeshift base was gradually showing up, and WX had stayed with him. Before we left, we heard them arguing about the book.

“WX! Come on! Just let me look at it!”

The robot had arrogantly turned away, tipping his chin upwards like he always did. “NEVER! YOUR _PUNY FLESHLING_ MIND COULD NEVER COMPREHEND WHAT LAYS INSIDE OF IT!”

“That's why I want to look at it! So I can understand what it mean- _come on!_ ”

“YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND IT!” And with those last words, he got up once more- as customary for him nowadays whenever he started an argument- and stalked out of the clearing- at least not the same way as last time. We caught Wilson muttering under his breath. He let out a sigh that hinted that he was trying very hard not to say or do something but his patience was running out.

We said nothing, just calmly stood and brushed the dirt off of our knees. Hunger was beginning to tug at our senses. So far, we had noticed the other two foraging for berries and such, but we craved meat. We hadn't even attempted to get any sort of food ourself. This was not starvation. We had felt starvation before. This was a simple hunger. Still didn't mean that it was starting to gnaw at us. We nodded once to the scientist, then prepared to set off as well, in the direction opposite of the frog ponds. _Day three_. Had it already been three days since we arrived? The first night was probably the worst for all of us. It had been uncomfortably dark around our campfire, and when we tried once to step out into the night, we could've sworn we heard someone whisper our name in our ear. Ever since then, we had decided to never go into the darkness again.

Shaking away these thoughts, we decided that maybe we could get something productive done and scout a bit. Whether or not we would keep moving or stay at our fire was beyond us. We stopped for a moment and let the smells of the forest smother our senses. Up ahead, the sun was shining cheerfully, bathing the woods in a soft golden glow and speckling the ground with rays of light. After a moment of concentrating, our mind latched onto what we were searching for and run ahead on light feet. The forest began to thin out before we broke out into plain, golden grasses as far as the eye could see. Our eyes caught on the one thing we wanted to see. Large, brown-furred rabbits. Whiskers twitching in excitement, we followed the creatures' movements. Hunting was never our forte, but something like rabbits should not be a problem. They wouldn't know what hit them. We looked around for a moment, looking for something sharp to hunt with. _That'll do!_ There was a thick, sharp rock on the ground a few paces away. We grabbed it and moved slowly over to one of the rabbit burrows, situation ourself between it and the rabbit that nibbled mindless on the grass nearby. Something must have spooked it though, because it paused and rose onto its hind legs, sniffing the air cautiously. With a sudden scream that made us jump, it fled backwards and right into us. We quickly killed the beast with a stab to the throat with the rock, then lifted it to examine it. It was big, but we knew from experience that not much of that was edible meat. At the moment, however, we did not care. We grinned. At least we knew that we had a supply of meat.

When we got back to camp, we saw Wilson's eyes widen at the rabbit in our hands. “Where did you find that?” He asked.

“There's a grassland over there that has a bunch of these,” I answered calmly. “They're really not hard to hunt at all. They're pretty dumb. Can't survive off berries forever.”

He nodded, a smile spreading across his face. “Do you know how to _prepare_ meat?”

We nodded. “Our father used to keep goats. He taught us how.”

He let out a nervous chuckle. “Good, because I don't know how to.”

We snickered. “We can teach you how?”

He was silent for a few seconds. “Why do you talk like that...?” He asked tentatively.

We paused for a second. “Like what?”

“Well... you say 'we' instead of 'I'... why?”

We wondered for a moment how to explain without teasing old memories or breaking his mind. “When we were five, we were eaten by a spider. Now, we think together.” That was a little too far, because our chest ached for just a second after saying that.

“R-really? You know...” he chuckled again. “It's not scientifically possible for a spider to be of human-eating size...” he clamped his mouth shut as we felt the old feeling stir up again.

With a forced smile, we shrugged. “Nothing around here is scientifically possible. You just haven't seen much of it yet.” He seemed to turn a shade paler at the ominous words, but before he could start up the questioning again we turned back to the grassland. “We'll go hunting again, and we can show you how to prepare live animals tonight, 'kay?”

“O-okay.”

By the time we got to the grassland again, we were aware that we weren't the only ones to have discovered it, and it just so happened that the other one to have found it was WX, and he was intent on his own hunt. He wasn't fast like us though, he was heavy and clumsy. We grabbed the flint from earlier, grinning madly as it ran right into us. We lunged forward and stabbed it in its throat, feeling it go limp.

The robot stomped his foot. “HEY!” He protested. “THAT WAS _MINE_!”

“Yours?” I barked a laugh. “Should've gotten it first, then.” We noticed a tension in his limbs that suggested he was holding back a lot of anger. Our grin only widened, which apparently he took as further aggression.

“ARE YOU _TRYING_ TO START SOMETHING?” He growled under his breath.

_Were_ we trying to start something? Had we gotten so used to fighting that that was we could do now? “Maaaaaybe?” As we met his glare evenly, realization hit us like a rock. This was not about the rabbit. He hated us. Being stuck with us for even three days was enough to round up enough hatred for him to hate us. This word was enough provocation, because next thing we knew, we were on the ground and our left cheek burned like fire. The pain disappeared in an instant to be replaced with fury. Back on our feet in an instant, we tackled him to the ground. Shock flared in his 'eyes' as though he did not expect us to be able to retaliate so quickly. We weren't used to fighting machines, but he acted so natural it was easier than we expected. He pushed us off as though we were a leaf and instantly took advantage of our surprise to use his weight to pin us down and put what felt like all of his strength to punch all out at our face. The biggest problem with this one that we were not used to...

He. Was. _Heavy._ When we finally managed to push him off, we were sure our jaw had been broken and maybe some of our ribs _just_ from his weight. The second we were back on our feet again, we launched ourself at him, causing both of us to tumble down back towards the forest, which was located down a slope. The breath was suddenly knocked out of our chest as we were rammed into the trunk of a thick pine tree. WX jumped back in an instant even though we were temporarily paralyzed in shock and our stomach and throat were wide open.

The ground was shaking, or at least, it felt like it was shaking. We didn't realize that we had landed on a half-buried root until it was yanked out from under us. Reality crashed over us like a wave as soon as we saw the trees branches morph into limbs.

The tree was alive.

Without the breath in our lungs, we could not run until we could get it back, and the paralysis lasted until, without warning, WX grabbed our arm and started to run, apparently trying to get us away from the beast even though this very same robot was trying to kill us just seconds before. He looked over his shoulder at us, and we noticed pure terror dancing in his gaze. “WHAT ARE YOU _DOING_? ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US BOTH KILLED? _RUN_!”

“What is that thing!?”

“SOMETHING YOU _DON'T_ WANT TO MESS WITH! _SPLIT UP!_ ” The shouted direction took a second for us to process, but by the time we figured out what he said he had taken off in a separate direction. Hoping his plan would work, we quickly changed direction to run in the opposite direction he had. A frustrated roar followed by heavy stomping in our direction told us it was giving chase, and we had to scrabble over thick roots and push away trailing branches just to keep somewhat of a lead on it. Before we even knew what was happening, the beast had gained on us and the breath was driven once more from our lungs as it swiped at us, not quite impaling us but sending us crashing into a tree painfully. Luckily, this one did not turn to attack as well. It wasn't much for keeping our spirits up. We lay still, unsure if we even could get up again, and the beast stayed put for a good hour, before aiming one last blow at where we stood, forcing out a silent wail of agony as white hot pain ripped through our legs, then stomped off again with grunts of satisfaction. _It must've thought we were dead..._ _Or are we dead? Wow, we've been here a grand total of three days and already dead. Good job, Webber. Great surviving skills!_

Something must have happened after that. We must have passed out or something, because next thing we were conscious of was being on some sort of grass bed. Our jaw stung like fury, and the pain in our legs was almost unbearable. But what mattered was that we were alive, and once again, at camp. We wondered for just a few moments who brought us back, but the train of thought was completely derailed as we attempted to say something to the figure by the fire- most likely Wilson- and the pain in our jaw struck back with a renewed strength. We must have been able to do something to alert Wilson of being awake once more, because he turned around and his steady expression melted into relief. “You're awake!” he breathed. “You're actually awake! I would've thought that you would've been out out for much longer than that...” he tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I might have to look into that, but thank goodness you're alright. No- don't try to talk,” he sputtered as we braced ourself against the torture of moving our jaw to speak. “It might make it worse.”

Being unable to speak, we raised an eyebrow, flinching.

“Your jaw is severely bruised. I can't tell if it's broken until the swelling's gone down. Your legs, however, appear to have been shattered.” He blinked, then narrowed his eyes. “Don't tell me you two fought. Ah, I can tell by the look on your face you're still confused. You see, after WX told me what happened, I asked about you. He said he didn't know nor care- as to be expected- but at least had the decency to show me where you two had been attacked. The-uh- broken tree limbs and felled trees told me the rest.”

“What was that thing?” I forced, causing Wilson to flinch and look even more worried.

“The tree guard?” He asked, and we nodded. “It's-well-a tree guard. Pretty nasty creature, I can't tell you anything about it you didn't learn from being chased by it like that.”

“How...?”

“How... how do I know what it's called?” He guessed, and grinned madly as he revealed the black book, the very book WX had been trying to keep him from getting to, under his arm. “It has all the mysteries of this place... all the creatures, all the fauna, all the... victims...”

“Victims?”

“ _Stop that_ ,” he demanded. “You're making it worse on both of us. But yes, the victims. Everyone that... _he_... has tricked.”

_Maxwell_. The name flared in our mind, burning the searing picture into our thoughts. Was that his name? The man who talked to us...?

“Some of them... some of them have these red 'M's over them... I don't know what they mean... I'm not sure I want to know what they mean. And yes, we have the honor of being one of those. That would've been your next question, wouldn't it have been?”

Most likely.

The next one after that, though, would have been _there's MORE!?_ _We're not alone!?_

“And... you still look like you have questions...”

_How is anyone that good at reading body language?_

“Let me guess, where's WX?”

_...No..._

He shrugged. “He's off doing.... robot things. I don't really know what he does when he's not trying to start something other than indirectly starting something, so I can't really answer that question.” His eyes softened. “You must still be exhausted from that experience. I can't say I blame you. Tell you what,” he added with a hint of adventurous excitement in his voice. “I found a little plain just full of bees not too far from here, and from what I've learned of survival, honey would be very useful for you. Not to mention we might be able to get that arm wound fixed up.” _Arm wound?_ We hadn't noticed until now, but a gash had been ripped open in between our wrist and elbow. “Just noticing it now? Good, I was worried that you were having problems with that as well as the jaw and leg thing. I guess what they say about your body focusing on the worst wound is true,” he concluded. “You get some rest. I _think_ I can handle WX for just a few days. You need to sleep to heal yourself.”

We almost protested about being useless but we cut ourself off as we remembered his earlier reaction to speaking at all. And besides... we _were_ feeling awfully sleepy...


	4. Broken

_**Wilson's POV** _

“You feeling better?” I asked Webber, who had recently woken up and was sitting up, but looked perfectly miserable. “So-um- I don't think your jaw's broken, just fractured... can you speak?”

“Sounds like a familiar question,” he mumbled. “But yeah, better than we could yesterday anyway. Will we be able to walk again?”

“Should be... I don't see why not, though you'd have to take it easy for awhile. You won't be able to for a few weeks.... broken bones don't just heal over night.”

His eyes widened. “You're telling us we won't be able to do anything for _weeks-_ Wilson!” His voice turned whiny when he exclaimed my name, and I was taken slightly aback. _He was threatening to tear WX limb from limb just a couple of days ago... and now he's kind of showing his kid side!_

“Yes,” I replied firmly. He sighed heavily, cringing, and I raised an eyebrow. I hadn't gathered any honey yet for his arm, but surely that wasn't what hurt this time. “What's wrong?”

“You've been trying to figure out what happened, haven't ch'a?”

I was shocked into silence. Was I really that predictable? Then again, I assumed I probably freaked him out yesterday when I was guessing his questions, but they were questions anyone would have- or at least I assumed so. Behind me, I sensed WX flinching.

“Isn't it obvious?” He adopted a wry look. “Come on, guess.”

“You two got into a fight about something stupid.”

“He started it,” the spider flashed, admitting I had guessed right without an ounce of guilt or shock. “He hit us.”

“YOU PROVOKED ME!” The robot protested, shoving me aside to glare at Webber.

“ _Stop it_!” I stomped my foot. “I am _sick_ of you two always _fighting_! I don't care who started it, I don't care who hit who first. All I know for certain is that Webber is one of us, _WX_ , and he is _hurt_.” As I turned to glare WX down, I saw in the corner of my eye that Webber had tried to hiss something in reply, but the quick movement must have hurt because he snapped his mouth shut, holding one hand over where the break would have been and resorted to just glowering.

WX met my gaze evenly, a hint of challenge in his 'eyes'. At first, I had thought that WX had started it after all, given the way he hit the spider without hesitation because of his curiosity over the book, but now I realized just the look he was giving me was enough to instantly make anyone hostile, and it was becoming more and more likely to me that Webber had been the one to throw the first punch. “HE'S HURT BECAUSE OF HIS OWN STUPIDITY,” WX huffed. “I LACK THE EMPHATHY MODULE TO FEEL BAD FOR THE IGNORANT.”

“If you're so amazing actually fight us this time and don't cower at the first sight of danger!”

He took a step forward, hand raised in readiness to take him up on the offer. “You know what?” My patience finally snapping, I smacked his hand down and wrapped my leg around his, yanking his feet out from under him, and pushed him to the ground. He landed with a dull _thump,_ and Webber's eyes stretched wide in admiration.

“Wow!” He breathed. “We wish _we_ could do that!”

“I said stop it. Which means you two stop fighting! WX, come with me.”

“NO!” He jumped to his feet, 'eyes' burning with anger. “I'M _NOT_ BEING STUCK WITH A _MEATSACK._ ”

“Are you saying you'd rather be stuck with Webber? Because- you know what, that sounds like a great idea. Think of it as a team building exercise. Step one: You two stay here without killing each other. Step two: You two find a way to keep yourselves from killing each other. Done!”

Despite my loss of patience, I could've died laughing by the identical looks of pure rage and shock that the two gave me.

“While you two are learning how to be friends, I'm going to be gathering honey for Webber's wound. You know, doing something _productive_? Wh- _What_ is so funny?” A wide grin had been spreading across the spider's face. “What?”  
  


“You're,” he paused, snickering. “You're literally just gonna leave and pretend we aren't gonna try to hurt each other physically and/or mentally?”

“I'm going to leave and _hope_ you two aren't gonna try to hurt each other physically and/or mentally.” I scowled at him. “Come on! You two have known each other for _four days._ _Four days_ for Pete's sake, that isn't enough to _hate each other_ the way you two do!”

“OH, HOW... ADORABLE,” WX sneered. “YOU HAVE BEEN _SO_ SHELTERED, HAVEN'T YOU? FIRST TIME SEEING THE OUTSIDE WORLD, WILSON? OR ARE YOU JUST _DULL_?”

I took a deep breath. “WX, I'm not going to give you the pleasure of starting something-”

“SCARED, SCIENTIST?”

“No, I just don't fight to solve my problems.”

“AH, WE HAVE A _COWARD_ THEN?”  
  


“Says the one who ran as soon as he saw the treeguard!” Webber snapped.

I rubbed my temples.

“I MIGHT HAVE SAVED YOUR _LIFE_!” Actual shock reverberated in his voice, and I perked at the new information.

“What!?”

The spider looked faintly lost, as though he either did not realize he had did so or he just remembered that he did.

“SHOULD'VE GUESSED WE WOULD HAVE LEFT OUT THAT DETAIL. AFTERALL, WHAT DOES THAT MAKE THE EVER-SO-BRAVE-WEBBER IF WILSON KNEW HE COMPLETELY FROZE UP.” He tipped his chin. “I HAD TO PRACTICALLY DRAG HIM AWAY TO KEEP IT FROM DOING EVEN WORSE.”

Webber lowered his gaze, muttering under his breath.

“What?”

“Maybe we didn't _want_ you to save our life,” he growled before lying back down and turning his back on us.

I was completely lost for words. Had he really just said he wanted to die? Or was he just feeling like he wanted to because of the amount of pain he was in? I couldn't help him more than I already had- minus the wound on his arm- and the way he winced when he sighed earlier lead me to believe that damage had been done to his ribs also, so maybe...?

I noticed that WX had a similar look of shock and even a bit of concern, but as soon as I looked at him he quickly covered it up with a sneer, so I wasn't even sure if I had actually seen it or not. “AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE GOING SOMEWHERE?” He asked me impatiently.

I found myself opening and closing my mouth a few times, trying to form words. He let out a slightly annoyed huff and turned back to the fire we had tried to keep alive. All of the wood had burned away, leaving just a pile of ash and charcoal in its wake, and the breath suddenly rushed out of my lungs in a heavy sigh. He brushed the ashes away and lifted his axe over his shoulder. The axe was another thing that had just appeared randomly- WX had found it and had refused to explain its origins, but it had made better fires than the meager pickings of grass and twigs we had been living off of until then.

Had I not heard the tremor of terror quivering in the spider's voice when he told me about the voice that whispered to him in the darkness, I would've believed it was just a figment of his young, childlike mind, and we wouldn't have resorted to burning small amounts of grasses and twigs to keep the darkness away when we couldn't find the proper wood we needed. However useful WX's axe was- however- it unsettled me to know we had no clue how he found it. Did he find someone already dead? Did he raid someone's camp? Did he _kill_ someone?

Any of the possibilities were likely knowing him.

As the robot delved into the forest for wood, I took a few moments before going out myself to check on Webber's wounds. He had fallen asleep again, luckily, so I was able to check him for wounds other than his arm, jaw and legs, namely his ribs. They didn't look broken... perhaps just fractures like his jaw, or even just bruised. I frowned again at his arm. He might not feel it compared to the more intense pain that must have been in his broken bones, but that didn't stop it from becoming deadly should it get infected. To be honest, that was my biggest priority. I reached out to check when he stiffened before I even touched his chest. I paused, my hand in midair. His teeth were bared and his hands were clenched around his grass bed. Confusion gave way to fear for the child, and I shook him fiercely, trying to wake him up. His eyes snapped open and he yelped, pushing me away. “Watch it!”

“What... _was_ that!?” I demanded.

“What was what?” His voice was turning sleepy again.

I frowned a bit. “Night terrors?”

“Nightmares,” he replied instantly, sighing as he tried to relax. To be honest, I wasn't sure what startled him more. The nightmare or me waking him up. “Don't worry yourself about it... it's... just one of the perks of being us.” Another heavy sigh that melted into a soft snore, and I wondered for just a moment if he would even recall that this had happened. I lightly patted the boy's furry shoulder.

“We'll get you all fixed up, Webber,” I murmured to him. “WX and I... he cares too, trust me. I can tell. You'll be better in no time.”

Bees, for the most part, are very protective creatures, namely over their home and honey. Luckily, they were also big, heavy, and slow animals, making it pathetically easy to just outrun them. This made the hard part not not getting injured by them, but finding a way to _contain_ honey. It was too easy to take simple things like jars for granted, but when you found yourself without one, it suddenly became a distant, pleasant thought. I found myself having to carry the honeycomb with my bare hands, causing the oozing yellow liquid to drip through my partially spread fingers and making my shirt sticky with honey.

By the time I got back, I was surprised beyond words to find that the robot had actually reappeared shortly before I had gotten back, and currently had his back to a tree trunk, a pile of odd shaped tree nuts to the right of him, to the left of him was a collection of intricately carved figurines. “What are those?”

“BIRCHNUTS.”

I frowned, realizing I should have known that. After all, it wasn't exactly a secret that I had snatched the book from him. I should've remembered it from the reading, but I must have dozed off before getting to information about them. “New trees?”  
  


He nodded, squinting at another birchnut he held in one hand. The outer coating had been sliced off clearly to reveal a whitish green inside. He used the axe he held to chip a few slices of it off. Webber was conscious again, though he still appeared drowsy. His eyelids drooped as he watched WX blankly.

“...what are you doing?”  
  


He blinked up at me, a twinge of annoyance showing through. “SOMETHING,” he muttered, turning back to his work. I picked up one of the carved birchnuts by his side. It was incredibly well-made and unmistakably a Chess piece- a rook to be more specific.

“...you're carving Chess pieces?”  
  


“YOU'D BE SURPRISED WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU GET BORED,” he replied without looking back up.

I cringed. I remembered last time I got bored, and it did not end well. Shaking the thought away, I glanced at Webber. “What are you doing?”

“Watching,” he mumbled. “Is that honey?” I nodded and he let out a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness. Our arm was really beginning to hurt.” I raised my brow.

“Can I check it...?”

“Please do.” He grimaced. “We didn't feel it much at first, but it aches now. Where did you get so good at doctoring?” He asked, lifting his arm so show me the gash.

“My father was a doctor,” I replied absentmindedly. “He crammed knowledge at me since I was little. That's actually what got me into being a scientist. Medical science was fascinating.”

“Guess it's a good thing he did so. We have no clue where we would be if you were as clueless as us.” I shook my head slowly, letting out a flustered noise. “Is it that bad?”  
  


“Well... it's infected. Just as I was afraid of. Hopefully the honey will help.”

“IS IT LETHAL?” I jumped out of my skin as WX piped up behind me. _Is he concerned?_

“No, not if I can get it treated quick enough,” I told him without looking back. “If I'm gonna fix this, I'll have to clean it up a bit. Is that okay? It'll hurt, but it'll feel better in the long run.”

Webber nodded.

“I'll be right back. WX, do you have any extra birchnuts? Any large ones?”

“INDEED.” He dragged his backpack- another thing he appeared with without explanation- closer to him and opened it up, revealing that it was nearly full of the large seeds, then promptly produced two tree nuts.

“Thank you.” I snatched up a piece of flint and made my way towards where the frog ponds were. By this time, dusk was beginning to fall. On the way, I took the time to carefully carve out the inside of the tree nuts. Much to my relief, no frogs were out of the ponds. I filled the makeshift cups then returned to camp to boil the water and hopefully kill whatever toxins lived in it. Upon returning to base, I noted that WX had apparently finished his Chess carvings, and was building up the fire, while Webber gazed into the dancing flames, his muscles stiff as though preparing for the worst. They both looked up as I rushed into the clearing, and WX quickly handed me a few large leaves, but refused to meet my gaze as though he was embarrassed. Amusement bubbled up inside of me at his gesture, but I had to admit it was quite kind of him- a complete change from how he was the day before.

The sun had gone down by the time I determined the water was safe. Using the leaves WX gave me, I cleaned Webber's wound in the firelight. The spider had his eyes shut tightly and his jaws clenched, but luckily did not flinch as I expected him to. “Are you done?” He asked through gritted teeth as I fixed the poultice over the gash.

“Yeah, that's it.”

He visibly relaxed and breathed out in relief. “It feels so much better... thank you Wilson.”

“No problem. It just needed some proper care.”

He smiled, then yawned, causing me to yawn as well.

“FLESHLINGS NEED THEIR SLEEP,” WX advised, a hint of sneer back in his voice.

I mentally chortled. _Well, he's back I guess. Not sure exactly what that was about...although... that was an awfully non-sinister thing he said. Maybe he just likes to pretend he's a jerk. Maybe he's really nice on the inside._

I nearly burst out laughing at this thought. Some part of me highly doubted that was the case. I nodded sleepily, then lay down by the fire. It felt like it had been awhile since I had slept.. _Tomorrow I'll go explore a bit.... maybe find that birchnut forest WX was talking about._

_I could leave them alone just for a little bit..._

_Right?_


	5. Playing Nice

_**WX-78's POV** _

_Come on spider. Just one more stupid move. One more stupid move and you'll be dead. Victory will finally be mine. Just you wait. I see where you are looking... yes... yes fall into my trap!_

Webber looked up at me with a smug grin as though he realized what I was about to do. He then ruined my plan entirely by looking elsewhere and sliding his bishop across the board that had been drawn in the dirt. “We believe that is a check?” He asked, still with his annoying smirk.

_Get the stupid bishop!_ I though furiously. _The darned things have taken me out_ twice _in a row!_ I was hopelessly confused though, and I noticed Webber's eyes light up as they scoured the board. “Check...mate?”

Wilson had left earlier in the day to go find the birchnut forest I had found the birchnuts in. Frustrated as I was that he had taken the book from me, I had to admit he was putting it to good use. I thought long and hard about the conversation we had prior to his adventure as Webber began to set up the pieces again.

_“We'd better be careful... I've been looking through this thing.”_ He had flipped through a few pages of the black book, his brow furrowed in worry. _“There are these... monsters... they are labeled as 'giants'.”_ He had proceeded to tell us what the five main ones were. _“The first one is the one we'd have to worry about now. It's called the Bearger... it's big.”_ He had warned. _“Like... very big. It has enormous claws and oily black and white fur. It only comes out of hibernation during the autumn though._

_“The second one seems even more dangerous. It's called the Deerclops. It's bigger than even the Bearger, and can freeze you! Its hands are like claws and it has thick, gray fur across the length of its whole body. Its antlers could also do damage if it bucks at you. This one comes during the Winter._

_“The third one comes out during the spring, and it's called the Moose Goose. It is most likely the largest of them all. As you can tell by her name, she looks like a large goose with antlers. Her moslings are dangerous as well._ ” I remembered this detail specifically well because I remembered thinking _Are you telling me babies are stronger than the fully grown mother?_

_“The fourth one... the fourth one is a summer dweller. She's called the Dragonfly. She's not as big as some of the others, but she has claws that could impale you on accident, and fire at her clawtips. She is the most territorial and the most protective of her young._

_“The last one is called the Ancient Guardian but...”_ He had flipped through the pages again, sighing as he reached one page that looked like it had been burned out minus the name 'Ancient Guardian' at the top of the scroll. _“I don't know anything about it. It looks like someone destroyed it, but I don't know why they would. It seems pointless.”_

“Uh hey, you ready to get your butt kicked at Chess again or are you gonna sit there all day looking off into space?” The spider waved his hands over the game. “We're completely fine with default winning- just so you know.”

“WHAT? NO! JUST... MAKE YOUR MOVE.”

“Okay, you asked for it.” He looked at the board for a few moments then looked back up at me. “Actually, why don't you go first? You haven't so far... maybe it's giving us an unfair advantage?” He grinned as though he really did not believe that, he just really wanted me to make the first move. Suspicious of his intent, I scanned my data banks for any idea of a good first move in Chess. _All the intelligent of a super computer can't help me it seems!_ I thought, exasperated, as nothing came up. I did a simple King Pawn opening. _And I really hate the smug look he has... it's like he can read my mind..._

Literally four moves later I was caught in another checkmate. I stared, gaping, at it. “HOW-”

“We had a life before all of this, ya' know. We're surprised, if we are honest without ourself, how well our Chess skills remained intact after... well, you know.”

There was a few minutes of silence between us.

“...YOU HAVE TO SHOW ME HOW TO DO THAT...”

“What? The four-move checkmate?”

“...MAYBE...”

“So it's easier to do it if you are the starting player...” He pointed to the pawn in front of his King. “King Pawn, you know that, right?” I nodded, interested. “Okay, move it forwards twice.” I did so, and he mirrored me. “Move your white-squared bishop so it threatens this pawn on our side.” He tapped the top of the pawn in front of his black-squared bishop, then as I moved it he brought his knight out in a typical opening. “Move your queen four squares diagonally so it is attacking the same pawn from the corner.” He took his other knight out. “Take out the pawn and there you go.” He leaned back. “Checkmate.”

“WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT?”

“It's called the Scholar's Mate... our father taught us.” He paused for a second, his gaze clouding in sorrow, then sighed. “He was fantastic at this game...” He shook his head as though dismissing old memories. “You're only supposed to be able to do it as white... we learned how to change it to work as black though.” He lifted the black king and palmed it for a moment before closing his fingers tightly over the carved piece.

“YOU HAVE A LOT OF HISTORY... FOR A MEATSACK.”

He smiled lightly as though I had complemented him, though he still had the underlying grief he had seconds before. Then he straightened, wiping his face of any other emotion than his calm smugness of beating me several times. At this moment, I wasn't even sure if he was purposely looking smug or his cracked jaw was making him look that way.

He reminded me too much of my captor.

_“Say pal, you look like you're in some trouble... I believe I know a way that can get you out of this predicament, but you'll have to trust me.”_

_Trust him!_ My thoughts scoffed. _What was I thinking? How desperate could I have been to listen to a_ radio?

_And he had that very look on his face._

_“_ COULD YOU PL-” _was I about to resort to kindness?_ “WIPE THAT STUPID GRIN OFF YOUR FACE.”

“We have _no_ idea what you're talking about,” he sneered, but did manage to change his expression to just a plain grin. “Happy now?”

“I WOULD HAVE SMACKED IT OFF BUT I FIND IT UNFAIR TO ATTACK THE _CRIPPLED_.”

“Uh-huh, and why is that?” He sounded completely disinterested.

“IF THE BEST A ROBOT CAN DO IS ATTACK SOMEONE WHO CAN'T FIGHT BACK IF HE WANTED TO, IT'S JUST PATHETIC. IT'S A MATTER OF PRESERVING SELF-PRIDE. NOT A MATTER OF ANY KINDNESS ON MY PART.”

“Ooh, someone is defensive about... something we didn't ask about? You trying to convince us or yourself?”  
  


Slightly disturbed by the way he just seemed to look right through me, I frowned. “YOU, MEATSACK.”

He tipped his head slightly as though about to say something, but he stopped before he did, whiskers twitching. “Hey Wilson, find the trees you were looking for?” The kid asked into the brush around our campsite. As the scientist made himself shown, he waved his hands over the game again. “You'd be proud to know that WX only threatened us once and it wasn't even death. You should be proud.”

“And how many times did you threaten him?” He asked. He had an armful of the birchnuts. _They're probably edible,_ I mused.

“None!” He protested, scowling. His expression changed for a moment. “Shoot, just remembered... you still don't know how to gut an animal, do you?”

Wilson stopped in his tracks. “Not... particularly...”

“You still have one of my rabbits?”

“...yes...”

“Bring it over here.” I saw a shudder pass through Wilson's body- he obviously held no want to prepare an animal- but he did as Webber said anyway. I flinched as Webber suddenly brandished a very sharp and very was-not-there-before knife.

“WHERE ON EARTH DID YOU GET THAT THING?”

He looked vaguely confused. “What's- nevermind. To put it bluntly, we made it. As you said, WX, you get _very_ bored sitting around doing nothing all day...”

I had to admit I was pretty impressed. At first glance, it looked like a real knife. But with closer examination, one could determine that- it was in fact- hand crafted. The blade was not tied, but had been wedged into the smooth wood of the handle. There were small carved dents in it and it took me a second to realize that he had specifically designed it to fit him. “It's not sharp enough to hunt with, but we made it to prepare meat.”

To be honest, I didn't know either, so I decided to watch. (Of course, I wasn't about to let him know he knew something I didn't)

Unlike his Scholar's Mate display, he said nothing in a silent demonstration. He mercilessly sliced the rabbit's head and paws off, making Wilson look a tiny-bit sick. It wasn't until he actually unzipped the animal that I started to feel sick as well. He still didn't look concerned in the slightest bit, ignoring our horrified looks and the blood that was staining the rabbit's brown pelt red. He paused for a moment during the actual cleaning though. “Are we just talking about the meat part or are we expected to show you the wonderful biology of a rabbit?” To my eyes, all of the intestines looked the same- _pink and squishy and just_ disgusting- but he seemed to be able to tell the difference well enough. “Well, the heart and liver tend to be edible-”

“Don't you think about it,” Wilson warned.

“Neither of you have proper survival instincts!” He taunted, but discarded the insides anyway. “You both look like you swallowed a whole frog. Trust us! It'll be worth it! WX, we're not going to lie. If you weren't a robot, you'd probably be puking right now.”

I felt like I wanted to despite my distinct lack of the organs required to do so.

“You'll both see. We can't survive off of berries forever.” He grinned at me. “It'll be you two doing it next.”

When neither of us replied, he sighed and stuck his now bloodied dagger in the ground. “Fine. But we aren't going to be the one to feed you two. Wilson, you should know above all of us you _can't_ survive without meat.”

_Protein._ I mentally corrected. _But he's right._ I echoed his sigh. “GIVE ME THE OTHER RABBIT.”


	6. Treacherous Thinking

_**Wilson's POV** _

“I haven't seen much fighting from you two lately,” I commented to WX. We were traveling through the grasslands where the bees were, more enjoying the weather than actually doing something productive. The robot shrugged.

“IT WOULD BE PATHETIC OF ME TO ATTACK A CRIPPLED CHILD,” he murmured. “DESPITE THE FACT THAT I WOULD WISH TO. IT WOULD BE STOOPING TO A... _WEAK_ LEVEL. ALL I AM SAYING IS I AM BETTER THAN THAT.” He examined his hands closely. The night before he had accidentally slashed apart the metal on his right palm, but it seemed to have started to heal by some form of... dare I say it... _magic_. _Perhaps there is a scientific explanation to it._ The rational part of my mind rambled. _Perhaps the world is stuck in a sort of permanent flux that causes things that would not normally happen in our world to be normal._

Whether is was this or just he was doing something behind the scenes was beyond me. Either way he seemed rather pleased as the condition of the wound. He cupped his hands together before continuing. “WHEN DO YOU THINK HE'LL BE WALKING AGAIN?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Walking? I'm not sure... but _fighting_ , that'll be awhile.”

“I SAID NOTHING ABOUT FIGHTING.”

“You were thinking it.”

“I HIGHLY DOUBT THE LIKES OF YOU COULD UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY OF THE MECHANICAL MIND.”

I stifled a snort of laughter, which earned me a glare. “I'm sorry, you don't seem particularly... advanced.”

“IF YOU HAD ANY IDEA OF MY ORIGINS, YOU WOULDN'T EVEN DARE SUGGEST THAT I AM TECHNOLOGICALLY IMPAIRED.”

“I'm not suggesting you are technologically impaired,” I protested. “I'm just saying the way you speak doesn't suggest you are of any greatest intelligence than we are.”

“YOU ARE SAYING I AM OF YOUR LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE? AND HOW IS THAT NOT TECHNOLOGICALLY IMPAIRED EXACTLY?”

I sighed. “Look. Maybe we should get off of this topic and back to the one at hand.”

“RIGHT.”

“Now I have to admit, he seems to be healing remarkably fast. It might be another factor of this world, such as the ability for you to heal. It seems to be in the same vein. Honestly, I'd love to do some more research on this world.”

“I DON'T PLAN ON BEING HERE LONG ENOUGH TO FIND MUCH OUT ABOUT IT.”

“Or perhaps this isn't another world?” I went on thoughtfully. “WX, have you considered the possibility of this being a dream?”

“HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THE POSSIBILITY OF _SHUTTING UP_ ANYTIME SOON?”

“Oh- sorry.”

“ABOUT TIME,” he muttered under his breath as a moment of silence went by.

_Still. Perhaps it_ is _just a simulation. Did someone hook me up to some sort of dream machine to examine my behavior in a scientifically illiterate world such as this? That would explain Webber... and the super fast healing. Wait no... that can't be. I got stung by a bee earlier... and it_ hurt! I felt a headache coming on. _Uhg... I'm just one person. I can't hope to discover this world's secrets so easily by myself, and the likelihood of one of the other two helping is just about as likely as them becoming like, best friends so... yeah, that's not gonna happen anytime soon._

A noise far off in the distance caught my attention. “Hey... did you hear that?”

He snapped his gaze to me, looking frustrated that I, yet again, tried talking to him, and he opened his mouth to snap at me when he slammed it shut as the noise pierced the air again. “WHAT IS THAT?” He whispered.

“Hounds,” I hissed through gritted teeth.

“...HOUNDS?”

“Yes _hounds_! Get your weapon out!” Slightly confused, the robot brought out his wood-chopping axe while I brandished a makeshift spear that I had been working on before I left earlier that day and stood back-to-back with him. “Come fight me you brutes!” I challenged as the howls grew louder and nearer.

The beasts became visible; a group of black beasts larger than any other dog breed I had ever seen with lolling pink tongues and sharp white teeth that reflected the sun. There were only four luckily, but that didn't subtract from the fact that they were _big_ and _probably_ wanted to eat us.

As the first one leaped towards my neck, I raised the spear and its own inertia buried the sharp end into it's shoulder. It howled and dropped back, snarling. Behind me, I heard the sickening _crack_ of WX smashing the axe into one's head, and spraying us all in blood. I let out a noise of protest just as another one of the aggressors lunged forward and ripped the spear out of my hand. WX instantly saw my danger and swung his axe in a wide arc before cracking it across its neck. My assumption was that the fourth one had fled to a distinct lack of fourth hound.

“Is that it?” I wondered aloud. “It sounded like there was more.”

“THERE MOST LIKELY IS MORE.” A wild grin spread across his face.

“What do you-” I cut myself off, catching his meaning with a slightly panicked feel. “ _Webber!_ ”

_**WX-78's POV** _

I waited a few seconds after Wilson disappeared to follow. My mind was no particular rush, but I found my feet carrying me faster until I, too, was running. _Calm down!_ I silently yelled at myself. _It's just the kid!_ Naturally, my mind was completely ignored.

To be honest, I really should have expected the sight I saw when I got back to camp, although I couldn't help a pang of relief- _No! That's not relief... is disappointment!_ I thought furiously. Apparently I missed something though, because, quite amusingly, Wilson had done something to tick him off.

“We had it under control!” The spider protested as I broke through the tree line.

“There was four hounds! WX and I had to take two each!”

The look on Webber's face resembled that of someone who had bitten into something foul. Wilson let out a heavy sigh as though trying not to start something, then turned to see me standing behind him. “You got here awfully quickly,” he commented. “You know, for someone who walked and doesn't care.”

“HONESTLY. I DIDN'T RUN HERE TO CHECK ON HIM,” I huffed. “I RAN BECAUSE I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD. ESPECIALLY IF HE HAD TO TAKE ON FOUR HIMSELF... BEING CRIPPLED AND ALL.”

“We didn't even attack them.” Webber snorted with a hint of laughter. “They just sat there staring at us until Wilson appeared. Still uneeded, by the way.”

“There was no telling if they were actually going to attack you!”

“They were cowards. Don't get me wrong, we're flattered you two care.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

“ _HE_ CARES.”

“You care too,” he replied instantly in a sing-song voice.

He didn't even flinch a I took a threatening step towards him.

“Did you just wake up?” Wilson asked, apparently trying to abruptly change the subject.

“We've been awake for an hour or two. Been completely bored though because... well, there's not much to do when you can walk. Next time you guys leave us, bring like, a couple of rabbits or something so we can do something productive, because you two still get queasy about gutting an animal.”

“I DO NOT GET 'QUEASY'. SUCH A FEELING CANNOT EXIST FOR ME,” I lied slightly. It was true it _should_ not exist, but I was pretty sure that the feeling I had when he showed us how to prepare a rabbit was reminiscent to the feeling of queasiness.

“Whatever you say, WX. You aren't the best at lying, by the way, but we'll pretend we can't notice if that makes you feel better.”

I scowled at him, but before I could retort Wilson stepped between us, completely ignoring the fact we were having a very nice discussion. He said nothing against either of us, and instead raised a hand and looked at me. “You heard him. Wanna go hunting?”

I nodded, thankful for something to do, though burning silently inside. _As if I actually care what happens to him_. _Well..._ I shifted uncomfortably. _I don't want him dead..._

_Yes I do! That is my whole purpose! I can't let it down!_

_I've already let it down._ A surge of pure fury shot through me directed towards the kid. _And it's all your fault! If it finds out that I'm growing attached to_ fleshlings _..._ I shivered, personally not wanting to go through that. _I'll be killed... right on the spot. All because of you..._


	7. Insanity

_**Webber's POV** _

Sanity was a very tedious thing to keep when you're surrounded by creatures who live to kill you... and even more so when you are nearly unable to fight back. We had lived alone for such a long time, though, we had expected it not to hit us nearly as hard... the warning of insanity wasn't even something we had time or patience to worry about. It seemed like such a minor threat in the grand scheme of things...

Perhaps it was the terrifying encounter with the tree guard finally catching up to us? Perhaps it was the knowledge of how if something wanted to kill us, we could not run. With so many possible factors and such a lack of other things to think about, you'd think that the concept would have been planned or even considered.

It wasn't.

We didn't even realize what was happening at the time. After a particularly bad dream which the details of we couldn't correctly grasp, we awoke to near darkness. Wilson was asleep, though he looked rather uncomfortable, and WX- who didn't need sleep- was watching the dying flames of the fire with a sort of fondness that suggested it would be a terrible idea to disturb him. We flinched at the own sound of our ragged breathing as we struggled to calm our racing heart. The undisturbed terror of seemingly nothing should have been a clear indicator of what was soon to happen. It took us a moment to realize _what_ exactly had sent us into such a panic.

It was the _shadows_.

No, these weren't ordinary shadows. These shadows had eyes. Cold, callous, viciously hungry eyes. They didn't make any move to lunge at us, though. They just sort of... watched. We could sense that these eyes held billions of thoughts. They were most certainly sentient. They all blinked, together, slowly, like they all belonged to the same monstrous beast. We shifted closer to the fire to the best of our ability without moving our damaged legs _too much_. WX didn't pay any attention. The sky was hesitatingly turning lighter on the horizon, and the very second the new sunlight touched the eyes they vanished, revealing nothing but the peaceful woods that surrounded the camp. We bit our lip uncertainly. The uncertainty didn't last long because the next thing to strike was a splitting headache. We quickly shut our eyes from the light, but it didn't help. It only made it worse as scenes began to play out through our head. 

_Us, alone, in the middle of winter and soaked with blood._

_A blue blade._

_Fire licking the woods around us._

_A clawed hand; a wicked grin._

_A wail of piercing grief._

_A golden crown._

_Fear._

_Blood._

_Death._

_Darkness._

_\_ The unconscious part of our mind knew it was insanity.... the rest of us was too terrified to listen. Memories were flashing faster than we could process them.

_A cry for help._

_A scarring betrayal._

_Emptiness._

It fell away almost suddenly, leaving us gasping for breath like we had just emerged from deep water. This seemed to catch the robot's attention. He glanced at us as we inched our hand toward our head. He sort of froze as though trying to figure out what the heck was happening. Our migraine began to subside, so WX shrugged and turned back to the fire without a word.

It was still bad enough, however, that the second we felt the hand on our shoulder we yelped and nearly slashed Wilson, who flinched back at our violent reaction.

“ _Ah!_ Webber! It's me!” He shouted as though we didn't realize.

“Oh.. sorry.”

“LOOKS LIKE THE WORLD'S FINALLY GETTING TO HIM,” WX commented with a hint of a sneer in his voice.

“Stop,” he snapped, glaring at the robot. “You're not impressing anyone.”

“I'M NOT TRYING TO IMPRESS ANYONE,” WX retorted. “I WAS MERELY STATING A SIMPLE FACT.”

Wilson ignored this and shifted a few paces closer. “Are you _okay_?”

We clenched our teeth and shook our head, the headache beginning to return. _Ugh... what_ is _this?_ “It hurts...”

“What does?”

“...everything.”

The scientist's brow furrowed with concern, but before he could say anything else something dark behind him rose up with a silent roar. “Watch out!” I yelped, throwing our arms over our head and shaking slightly. Wilson instinctively ducked and rolled to the side.

But the blow we expected never came. We dared to peek over our arm to see that whatever monster had been about to attack us had disappeared into thin air. We stared at the empty air for a second, our jaw hanging open. “Unfair!” I protested. “There was something there, we swear!”

Wilson frowned, dusting himself off. He said nothing, but after a few seconds of him examining us with concern in his gray eyes he reached forward and put his hand on our forehead. We stifled a hiss of fear at the sudden movement, but he paid little attention and drew back. "You're burning up," he sighed. "That's probably what's wrong..." His gaze flicked to our arm and back. 

“AWW, WHAT'S WRONG? LITTLE KID _SICK_?”

_...I'm probably running a fever_ because _I'm seeing things... like that's logical._

“WX, if you're going to be like that, the least you can do is go hunting or something.”

WX stood to his full height instantly. “I'M _NOT_ GOING TO BE GUTTING _ANY_ ANIMALS!” He protested. “WITH THE FURRY HALF-BREED OVER HERE OUT OF THE EQUATION, WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE _DOING_ THE DIRTY STUFF AROUND HERE?”

_Half-breed!_ If we weren't crippled, that probably would have been enough provocation to attack him again. We opened our mouth to snap at him, but shut it abruptly as Wilson gave both of us the 'glare-of-death'. "You," he pointed towards WX. "Out there." He pointed to an area where be unexplored farther out. The robot scowled at us but said nothing as he stomped away. "Hey, will you be alright on your own?" Wilson lowered his voice and crouched to become eye-to-eye with us. 

We nodded, brushing away the beads of sweat forming on our forehead. “We'll just... sleep or... something...”

He patted our shoulder, smiling. “Hopefully WX and I will be able to get you back on your feet soon.”

“Hope and truth are two different things,” I muttered, too quiet for the scientist to hear.

“I'll go explore a bit towards the way we were going when the hounds attacked. I _should_ be back before dark...”

“And as for WX?”

He shrugged. “You know him... not much I can do.”

“Good point... well, good luck... like I said we'll just... catch up on our sleeping.” To show him we would, we stretched and lied into a more comfortable position. He chortled lightly.

“See you soon.”

_**Wilson's POV** _

Perhaps I should have been paying more attention. Perhaps I should have been thinking less of my predicament with the two rivals and more of the fact I knew next to nothing about this land. The book helped, but it couldn't describe just how awful the creatures really were, as evidenced by the hound attack. Of course, go figure, it never occurred to me to pay _that_ close attention.

It wasn't until the beast was close enough for the entire world to shake in its presence that I realized I had just made a terrible, terrible, _terrible_ mistake. And in the wilderness... any mistake can be fatal. At first, I was confused, thinking that there was an earthquake. _If that is the case that means that this world has plates, which means it has fault lines, which means that this area should be affected more by these earthquakes and I can almost guarantee that a simulation could contain such physics._

Before I could even comprehend what was happening the forest around me gave a giant heave, and the tree nearest to me was cut clean through, slid and fell with an earsplitting crash. With the leaves and branches now gone from their spot, the monster was presented clearly to me.

Its bottom fur was almost entirely black with the occasional hint of silver mixed in. Long white fur was draped over its shoulders and down its back almost like a natural cape. The sunlight glinted off of its soulless white eyes, sharp, needle-like teeth, and a white stripe that parted the black fur on its head. And it. Was. Massive. It was slightly bigger than the trees and ripped away undergrowth like it was made of paper. It paused for just a second in its rampage when it met my gaze.

_The Bearger..._ I thought in horror. It dropped onto all fours and roared at me so loudly I was temporarily deafened, then lashed out a huge paw and hitting me hard enough to send me into a tree. I wasn't hit by its claws, but it was still a painful collision. The oddest thing happened after that. The second I was out of its way, its snarl dropped and it continued its way through the forest. I lay still, panting against the tree and waiting until the artificial earthquake died away before trying to stand. I let out a gasp of pain as I put pressure on my right leg, then nearly smacked myself. _For crying out loud, are we all destined to get beat down until we can't do anything anymore?_ I thought furiously. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart, then started to limp home.


	8. Damaged

_**WX-78'S POV** _

I knew that something like this would happen soon. It was inevitable. Fleshlings weren't created to be able to withstand as much as a machine. This is the very reason I was not at all surprised to hear of the damaging effect Wilson's encounter with one of the very beasts he warned Webber and me about. What I was surprised about, however, was how it hardly seemed to have an effect on his mental state given how tedious sanity was for them. _Or perhaps it's just a problem that the half-breed has_ , my mind sneered. It was dusk by this point, so the fire was up. Webber's gaze was remote, fixed on the dancing flames reflected in his blank eyes. Wilson was nearer to the flickering light, his pant leg pulled up as he examined the damage that the bearger had done to his leg. The worst I saw was blood smeared which was obvious to tell due to the fact all his clothes beneath his waist were stained red. “Could be worse...” he murmured to himself.

“WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING?”

“More than a couple of scrapes,” he admitted. “I'm not complaining of course, but the force that beast hit me... it should have at least _fractured_ something.” He glanced at Webber and sighed. “Which makes it even more shocking the amount of damage he took from the tree guard... I thought the giants would be the worst possible scenario, but if the Bearger is somehow weaker than the trees...” He looked wearily at the pines around us. “I don't know how we'll be able to do anything without worrying about something attacking us,” he muttered.

“THERE'S TWO OF US.” He glared at me. “FINE. _THREE_ OF US, THOUGH, YOU CAN HARDLY COUNT _HIM_. YOU COULD SIMPLY PUT YOUR SUPPOSED INTELLIGENCE TO THE TEST AND SET UP SOMETHING WHERE ONE OF US CAN LOOK FOR TROUBLE WHILE THE OTHERS WORK.” I shrugged. “UNLESS YOU DON'T LIKE TAKING ADVICE FROM THE... 'LESSER BEING'.” _If some part of you truly believes you are smarter than the one whose mind is comparable to that of a super computer_ , I added silently. He frowned.

“I never called you lesser,” he protested. “I said you were probably close to our intelligence. You were the one who took it as an insult.”

I huffed and said nothing else. Wilson sighed and shook his head, but didn't add anything, which I quite appreciated until the silence grew almost awkward as he fiddled with the fire.

“YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE KID?” I asked, hoping to at least break the silence. His gaze shot up to meet mine.

“Of course!” He exclaimed. “He seems to be the only one who knows _anything_ about the outside world. Unless,” He added mischievously. “ _you_ are totally okay with gutting animals like he is?”

I looked away instantly, and I heard him let out a peal of laughter. "I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH SKINNING _ANY_ SORT OF FLESHLING,” I huffed pointedly. For some reason my barely concealed threat only made him laugh harder. “WHAT IS _SO FUNNY_?”

“I know you are completely serious right now,” he managed between laughs, “but I know very well you would die in less than a day if you ever did kill Webber or I. And you know it too.”  
  


 _...Stupid scientist._ Instead of saying this out loud, I opted to instead ignore it, turning back to look at the dying fire, and the way the spider's weirdly blank eyes reflected it. “WHAT DO YOU THINK IS WRONG WITH HIM?” I tried, and Wilson started laughing _again_.

“For someone who _doesn't care_ you sure do seem to _care_ quite a bit,” he snickered. “but all jeering aside, I'm not completely sure.” He rubbed the back of his head uncertainly. “I can't tell if he's hallucinating because of the fever or if he has the fever because he's hallucinating... I can't even tell why he would have a fever or hallucinations in the first place! Unless the infection in his arm has gotten worse, which I can't really tell because every time I try to get near him he nearly claws my face off. I wish I had the proper tools to give him proper healthcare. I really do. But it looks like we'll have to work with what we've got.” He grabbed one of the hollowed-out birchnuts he had been storing water in and started washing the scrapes and contusions across his own leg, gritting his teeth as though it hurt. “It was holding back,” he realized out loud, meeting my gaze. “It wasn't actually trying to hurt me. This... _this_...” He motioned wildly to his injured leg. “This is _nothing_ compared to what it _could_ have done to me.”

“WHAT WAS THE WORST IT COULD HAVE DONE?”

He was silent for a few moments. “It probably could have severed my entire leg,” he murmured softly. “if it didn't kill me first.” The next couple of quiet moments seemed to last forever before Wilson seemed to crack under it and continued talking. “WX... just a question... which injuries did you inflict?” I turned sharply to stare at him, confused. “I really need to know. I know you and Webber fought before you two were attacked, but which wounds did _you_ inflict and which ones did the _tree guard_ inflict?”  
  
“...WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?” I demanded.

He raised his chin slightly. “Because I'll need to keep a closer eye on the tree guard injuries. They are more likely to get infected than anything you could deal out, plus I need to go over them for wooden shrapnel.”  
  


A couple more insanity-inducing moments of silence between us. “HIS RIBS WERE PROBABLY MY DOING. AS WAS HIS JAW.”

“Everything you did was blunt force?”  
  
“INDEED.”

He groaned, burying his face in his hands as he finished cleaning his bloodied leg and muttering “I'll have to check all of his open wounds then. He will most certainly not be happy.”

“IF HE'LL EVEN LET YOU NEAR HIM,” I huffed. “IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, HE'S A BIT... DELUSIONAL RIGHT NOW.”

"Oh, I've noticed." He gave me a wry look. "Which is exactly why I said he's not going to be happy." His eyes drifted to the black book he always kept with him. "Maybe the book has something to say about this. This is _definitely_ not normal behavior.”

“I'M NOT SURPRISED HE'S SHOWING ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR. AFTER ALL... HE'S NOT EXACTLY WHAT YOU WOULD CALL A 'NORMAL' SPECIMEN.”

“None of us are,” he laughed lightly. “I mean... _you_ aren't exactly the most 'normal' specimen either, WX.” I opened my mouth to protest but he continued. “You are a robot,” he reminded me.

“A ROBOT. IT'S NOT UNUSUAL.”

“On the contrary, you are quite high-tech compared to the kinds of robots I saw in my hometown.” Wilson paused as though it was uncomfortable to talk about it. “Well... actually, I don't even recall seeing robots. I knew they existed but...”

“I'M THE FIRST YOU'VE SEEN?” That was unusual. Where I was built, robots where _all_ you saw. I couldn't even remember any human contact until recently...

“Definitely. Especially a robot that apparently functions exactly like a human? I have to admit, you are quite interesting.” He smiled. “Would if mind if one of these days, when we have nothing to do, I did a few... experiments with you?”

“YES. I MIND VERY MUCH. I AM NOT A TOOL FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT.”

“Oh you're no fun,” he pouted. “Away with you.” He looked away and waved me off. “You suck the joy out of everything.”

“OH FINE. I'LL JUST GO DO SOMETHING USEFUL AND HOPEFULLY NOT GET ATTACKED BY SOME RANDOM MONSTER I SHOULD'VE HEARD A MILE AWAY.”

“You really are just a big killjoy.”

“I'M NOT A KILLJOY,” I protested. “I AM, IN FACT, TRYING TO BE PRACTICAL.”  
  


He rolled his eyes. “Go explore or something... try to bring food back!”  
  


“MEAT?” I asked.

“No no no, not unless you are up to gutting it.” He pointed with his thumb back at Webber as he stood up, resting his weight on his good leg. “He's the only one okay with it at this point. And we don't even know what's wrong with him.”

I glanced back at the woods. “YOU LOOK IN THAT PRECIOUS BOOK OF YOURS AND I'LL GO OUT THEN?”

He sighed but nodded. "You know what would be useful? Bandages. If we had _any_ sort of bandages.”

I shrugged. “I DON'T THINK YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIND THOSE IN THE WILDERNESS.”

“I know but... if you can find anything we could possibly wrap wounds up with that'd be great.”

“I DOUBT I WILL... BUT I GUESS THERE'S NO HARM IN TRYING.”

“Ah, much appreciated- and you're not listening anymore.” he chortled a bit as I turned around to walk away before he could continue speaking. _Moronic fleshlings- love the sound of their own voice until they annoy everyone else._

I was honestly beyond glad when I was finally out of speaking range. _If he keeps this up I'm going to either be deaf by the end of this or wish I was deaf._

In a slight daze, I let my mind wander aimlessly. I wasn't as curious about how I got here- as Wilson was- and more interested in how I could _get out_. Truthfully, I had no clue what this place was but I didn't really care so long as I could get back to the real world... to _my_ world. The physics here were a bit too wonky and unusual for my liking. _A robot likes pristine order. There is nothing orderly about this world. I suppose that's the wilderness for you, but it doesn't mean I have to like it._ As if to prove my point of the wonky physics, I felt a sudden wave of heat pass over me even though, when I looked up, the sky had turned overcast. Ahead I could almost swear I saw the forest thinning out, and I moved quicker until I began to run towards the light, before emerging to an almost blinding brightness.

The ground had quickly gone from slightly dewy and soft underfoot to cracked and dry. Sand covered the ground as far as the eye could see, which was far considering the lack of trees. In their place were cacti placed randomly all over the flat area, and as I watched a herd of some strange, blue creatures with lightning-bolt shaped horns bounded into view, looking as though they were chewing on something despite there being no grass to chew on. _What are they eating? Sand?_

To the other side, a small rabbit was creeping out from the edge of the forest, eyeing the blue creatures suspiciously and I wondered for a small moment if they were deadly before an absolutely _massive_ bird swooped from the sky and lunged towards it with outstretched talons, causing the animal to flee for cover with a high-pitched scream. The bird let out a despairing _caw_! before taking off again with two powerful strokes of its feathery wings. _A desert_ , my mind unhelpfully supplied as I took in the new surroundings. I let my gaze rest on the blue creatures. _I can probably ask Wilson about those things when I get back... knowing his obsession with that stupid book he'd know what they are... and if they're edible._

Another part I hated about this world, admittedly, was my newfound need to eat. I had never needed to before and now it was almost unbearable.

I officially hated yet _another_ thing that made me more similar to these _pests_.

_You know you'd be terrified without them,_ a small, annoying voice whispered... one I recognized well.

_Oh, shut up. I'm not dependent on any life-form._

As though the universe wanted to make matters worse while simultaneously throwing me out of my thoughts, an enormous thunderclap echoed overhead, and I glanced curiously up to look at the sky. I had never been out in rain before, so I could only begin to imagine what it felt like.

A sharp, stinging sensation shot up and down my spine as something hit me right in the base of my neck.

_ZAP!_

It was weird how just a single drop of water caused an entire shower of sparks to fly out of me.

Yep, I was _not_ built to be out in the rain.

_ZAP!_

Nearly scrabbling to get away, back into the shelter of the trees and away from the offending _liquid._

_ZAP!_

Well, at least this was another barrier between me and fleshlings.

_ZAP!_

I didn't mean I had to like it.

By the time I had run all the way back, I was positively soaked and glowing like a Christmas tree from the sparks. Wilson had to cover his eyes and mouth to keep from laughing, and I was gladder than ever that Webber was still too out of it to say anything. I narrowed my 'eyes' at the scientist as soon as he peeked over his hand, and he shook his head, lifting his other hand to show me his dripping palms. "I'm not saying a word. Not saying a word."


	9. A Little Rain Must Fall

_**Wilson's POV** _

It was much more difficult than it should have been, but I managed to keep a straight face about WX's predicament. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to laugh so hard he would probably backhand me, but it didn't help that he sat helplessly with his backpack over his head to help shield from the rain and he was glaring at me with the most rage he could muster in a single look.

Honestly, I felt that I was showing great self-restraint given the circumstances. 

However, I _was_ having some problems searching through the book without ruining its precious information-loaded pages with the merciless rain. The short time I was given to search through it before the rains started gave me just enough time to discover that Webber's problem was, indeed, his sanity. _There is no cure for insanity,_ I had thought with a sigh. _Back in my world, people would throw the insane into an asylum and forget they existed... using them as lab rats._ The book had other ideas, though. _This is impossible! Picking flowers? Being near a random monster in the birchnut forest? Eating_ mushrooms??? _What is_ wrong _with this world??? It breaks just about every law of science that exists!_

Well, the rain proved me wrong on that front. Gravity still existed, so that was nice. Whether or not objects fell at the same rate or not was a different matter, but the fact that it was still there, sure and strong, comforted me a bit.

_And maybe I'll get to learn more about this world. I could create and prove scientific theories never seen before!_

“PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS? OR WOULD YOU PREFER A MORE AMUSING WAY TO GET THEM?” WX asked with a sneer.

“Just thinking about something you wouldn't care about,” I replied absently. He frowned, and I realized the rain had finally stopped, although he was still sparking a bit from the rain still gleaming on him.

“MOST LIKELY, BUT I STILL WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT. YOU ARE MAKING SOME WEIRD FACES.”

“Science. I'm thinking about science. WX, do you have any idea the fame we could get if we could get out of this world? A completely undiscovered realm, where magic exists!”

He was silent for a couple of seconds. “ARE YOU PLANNING ON USING THE KID AS PROOF OF THIS?”

It took me a moment to realize 'the kid' was referring to Webber. “I wasn't planning on it, but now that you say it...”

“THAT'S ONE THING I WON'T DENY ABOUT HIM- HE'S INDEPENDENT AND DOESN'T LIKE OTHER PEOPLE USING HIM- LIKE MYSELF. I DON'T THINK HE WOULD APPRECIATE BEING USED AS A KICK IN THE FACE TO YOUR PRECIOUS SCIENCE.”

“Oh? Since when did you learn so much about him, hmm?”

“YOU LEARN MORE ABOUT SOMEONE BY FIGHTING AGAINST THEM THAN FIGHTING WITH THEM,” he huffed.

“Is that your excuse?”

“BESIDES,” he went on, ignoring me. “THIS IS ALL ASSUMING WE CAN EVEN _SURVIVE_ THIS PLACE.”

“Are you suggesting we could die here?”

“NOTHING HERE HAS BEEN FRIENDLY, IF YOU'VE REALIZED. THE ONLY ONES HERE WHO ARE WILLING TO WORK TOGETHER.” WX crossed his arms. “AND I AM ALMOST CERTAIN THAT BOOK OF YOURS WILL BACK ME UP.”

_He's right,_ I realized, mentally going over what I had read in the book. _Almost nothing in there is friendly._

“SPEAKING OF YOUR BOOK, DO YOU THINK YOU COULD LOOK UP A CREATURE FOR ME?”

I stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. “ _You_ want _me_ to actually look at something for you?”

“UNLESS YOU'D BE WILLING TO COUGH IT UP, WHICH I NATURALLY ASSUMED YOU'D BE TOO STUBBORN TO DO.”

I sighed, knowing I wasn't going to be going anywhere with him. “Okay, just... describe it to me.”

“IT'S BLUE,” he started, looking slightly unhappy for some reason. “WITH JAGGED HORNS. BLANK EYES? ALMOST GOAT-LIKE?”

I flipped open the black leather book and flipped through its pages, trying to recall the creature he was talking about. “Where did you see this?”  
  


“I FOUND A DRY BIOME- DESERT I PRESUMED.”

“After this, we need to do something about Webber,” I reminded him as I searched.

“I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU EXPECT ME TO DO.”

“Us to do,” I corrected. “And I'm not sure. There's something in here about mushrooms...?”

Much to my surprise, he let out a weird burst of garbled static, which I realized must have been _laughter_. “HOW DO YOU EXPECT THAT TO HELP? EVEN IF THERE WAS SOME MAGIC MUSHROOM THAT COULD HELP WHATEVER THE HECK IS WRONG WITH HIM, THERE IS NO WAY WE COULD MANAGE TO GET THE KID TO _EAT_ THEM.”

It was my turn to laugh, imagining the guaranteed anger he would show if we tried to force-feed him. "We'll find a way," I said. 

“WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?” He asked, sounding very much like he wanted to laugh again.

“Oh! Is this what you were talking about?” Before answering his question, I stopped on the volt goat page and turned it to him.

“VOLT GOAT? WHAT AN ODD SPECIES NAME. IS IT EDIBLE?”

"Yep. But we'll have to get Webber back first." I shivered slightly, remembering his silent, almost savage demonstration in gutting the rabbit. He had shown no sadness nor remorse. In fact, he had shown no emotion at all, minus a quiet determination set in his features. 

It was borderline terrifying.

I was afraid that if I was forced to do that myself, I'd begin to lose my own remorse for the smaller animals. That and I felt beyond sick at seeing it happen and I could imagine how terrible it'd be if I had to partake.

I shook my head wildly. _I need to stay focused._ “How do you want to go about this?”

“ABOUT WHAT?”

“The mushrooms.”

“OH. WELL, WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?”

“They look like- well, a green mushroom. It has to be cooked though, or it might make matters worse. Got it? _Got it_? I'm talking poison here, WX, don't get any funny ideas.”

He tipped his chin, looking slightly offended. “IF I WAS TO KILL HIM, IT WOULD NOT BE BY SUCH AN UNDERHANDED TACTIC AS _POISON_.”

“I'm glad that you are so generous,” I said sarcastically.

The slightest twitch of his face, the smallest lift of his frown, and I think for the first time since I met him I saw him smile, even just a little bit. _I knew it! I knew there was a nicer robot in there somewhere, WX!_

He shook his head, the smile still on his face. “COME ON. WE'RE BURNING DAYLIGHT. LET'S JUST GET THIS OVER WITH.”

_**Webber's POV  
** _

Our head felt like someone had stuffed it full of cotton and used it as a kickball. Everything was clouded and it hurt like heck.

We could think though.

And we could move.

So that was honestly an improvement.

It was dark, as it appeared the sun had set hours before. Wilson was fast asleep, muttering something in his dreams and WX had his back towards us, facing the flames. We pushed ourself up with one hand, using the other to hold our aching head. At first, we had thought that he didn't realize we were awake, but when he spoke it was without looking at us.

“FEELING BETTER?” He asked, a sort of gentleness in his tone that was completely unexpected, especially from him. “YOU WERE OUT OF IT FOR QUITE AWHILE. IT TOOK US A DAY OR TWO TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG WITH YOU.” He finally turned to look at us, the fire's light creating dancing patterns of flames against his face and making him appear almost ghastly as though he was not of this world. “DID YOU KNOW ABOUT HOW SANITY AFFECTS PEOPLE HERE?”

“Y-yes,” I stammered, feeling our voice crack as though it hadn't been used in awhile. “Of course. We just... didn't realize...”

He looked back towards the fire. “WILSON SAID YOU'D BE ABLE TO WALK AGAIN SOON,” he informed us quietly.

“That'd be nice.”

“HE'S SURPRISED ON HOW WELL YOU'VE BEEN HEALING. HE WAS ATTACKED WHILE YOU WERE OUT AND HE'S STILL FEELING THE EFFECTS OF IT, EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T NEARLY AS BAD AS YOU INJURIES. IS THERE A REASON YOU ARE ABLE TO HEAL FASTER THAN ANY FLESHLING I'VE KNOWN ABOUT?”

“Where we're from, it isn't unnatural.” We tipped out head, our clearing mind now a whirlwind of confusion at seeing this side of him. _It's kind of creepy actually._ “Why...? With the injuries we had... how long would it take for people to heal where you're from?”

He was silent for a moment. “YOU'RE NOT FROM EARTH, ARE YOU?”

The question took us way off guard. “W-we're not sure where we're from, to be honest.”

“YOU SPOKE OF IT AS THOUGH YOU DO, IN FACT, KNOW.”

“It's not that,” I protested. “I-it _feels_ natural. Like it's normal for us.”

“I KNOW THAT ISN'T THE TRUTH,” he said, almost so quietly we could hear it. “I KNOW THAT ISN'T THE TRUTH...”


	10. Still Unbroken

_**Webber's POV** _

"Whoa, whoa, hey, take it easy," Wilson cautioned, supporting us with his shoulder. "You haven't been on your feet in awhile. You're probably _very_ weak right now.”

“Haha, yeah, we can tell,” I laughed nervously, trying to keep from collapsing. Our knees felt weak and refused to lock into a standing position. Our legs ached, but it was a slight pain, not at all like the burning agony we used to feel in them.

“How do you feel?” He asked.

“Better. A _lot_ better actually.” We gave him a toothy grin. “Thanks a lot, Wilson. We probably would've died without you.”

“Nah, I don't think so. You said that you survived on your own for awhile, so we probably would die without you.” He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, “WX seemed pretty eager to get you back on your feet. I'm not sure if he wanted to fight something or if he really wanted you better, but hey, it's a nice thought anyway.”  
  


“Speaking of the devil, where is he?”

He laughed a bit. “I honestly have no idea. He was gone when I woke up so.” He shrugged. “He found a new area, so he might be over there, but he never tells me anything. Why'd you ask?”

“He was acting really strange the other day.”  
  


“What do you mean?”  
  


“Well... he asked if we were feeling better, you know, after the whole insanity episode?” He nodded, so we continued. “It wasn't as much what he _said_ it was _how_ he said it. He sounded a touch worried for some reason, and he spoke almost... gently.”  
  


“Are you sure you weren't still feeling the effects of insanity?”

“We might've been, given the circumstances.” Beginning to get uncomfortable with the conversation, we changed the subject. “Winter's coming.”

“How can you tell?”

We didn't say anything, slightly surprised. _How can you_ not _tell?_ "The air is crisp," I said slowly. "and clean, like snow, is on its way. The air has a slight, frosty chill for it, that you wouldn't get unless you were very late into fall or early winter. Can't you tell?" We broke away from him holding us up and sat. 

"Your senses must be stronger than mine because I can't tell any of that." He smiled. "Pretty impressive, Webber." 

“Thanks,” I huffed. _We didn't even walk and we're out of breath! It's going to take_ forever _to be able to walk properly again!_

“I don't want you two fighting,” Wilson said after a minute, and we turned sharply to look at him.

“We have no idea what you're talking about.”

“You and WX. I don't want you two fighting... or at least wait until you can walk properly again.”

“Whaaaat? Us, _fighting_? That sounds _nothing_ like us. We are an innocent little seven-year-old, Wilson. Never hurt another person in our _life_.” We couldn't keep a straight face, and even Wilson cracked a smile.

“I can only wish.”

“We're angels, WX and us.”

“Let's see how you two are when you can walk properly. Come on, you aren't going to get your strength back sitting.” He grabbed us by the uninjured arm and pulled us up again, letting us lean against him. “Try walking.”

“We can't,” I puffed.

“Just try. One step at a time.”

Our legs could barely support us, but at his urging, we forced them to move. It was a jerky movement, but it was enough. It was exhausting, but despite our reluctance, we knew we had to, or else it would only get worse. Determination set in our features as we tried another step. 

“It's going to get easier,” he promised.

“When?” I growled, taking another shaky and hesitant step.

“Eventually. You've been crippled for weeks.”

“Weeks?” I echoed. “It's already been _weeks_?”

He shrugged helplessly. “Come on, focus. I know this is draining your energy, but you have to.”

We almost argued. We almost told him to stop, but when we looked at him to see his partially relieved, partially concerned, and partially gentle and understanding, we couldn't bring ourself to. _He's really trying to help us... and he's probably helping us a great deal. It's difficult now but it'll get better._ “Thank you,” I managed, forcing a smile. His eyes glimmered.

“Trust me. You'll be better in no time.”

…

The air smelt of frost and dying leaves. With dawn came mist, giving the woods an eerie orange sheen as the light from the sun reflected off of it. We could hear animals scuffling in the undergrowth, preparing themselves for the barren winter. _Food will get scarcer, but our skills will become all the more valuable._ We clenched our fist around our handmade knife, feeling our fingers slide easily into the grip. _This world was made for us. Just like this knife. We fit in._ Squeezing our eyes shut, we tightened our grip.

No.

Reluctantly, we forced ourself to open our eyes and look around, noting the fact our hearing dimmed slightly as we did. _Interesting._ However tempting the blade was, we weren't that desperate.

Yet.

_Stop that. You have a job to do, Webber. You have this blade for a reason. The others count on us. They act like they know what they're doing, but neither of them has proper instincts._ We let out a deep breath we didn't know we were holding. _This winter will be tough. We might have to carry this entire group through spring. Or at least until they understand that this world isn't going to hold their hands. This world is set out to kill us._

_This world is going to kill us._

_For crying out loud-_ Stop _that Webber!_ We felt something warm run down our hand and through our fur, and we sharply looked down to see claws digging into our palm. We stood, closing our eyes again and letting the forest's sounds engulf our senses. When our eyes were open, we couldn't tell if the rustling was from the browning leaves still hanging on to the otherwise barren treetops or animals scurrying in the dry leaf mold, but when our eyes were closed we could hear the differences. Animals made a light thumping sound along with their rustling, while we could distinguish the faint sound of branches bumping against each other as they swayed along with their dying burdens. 

The world was somehow almost scarier when we heard it like that.

There! A small, furry animal, near us. We took a few steps forward, listening, then lunged towards the sound. The brown animal, its fur beginning to turn white for the cold months ahead, screamed and thrust itself forward with surprising speed.

It wasn't fast enough.

Weeks after Wilson had given us the all-clear, we had spent trying to be able to walk and run again. Now, we were almost able to run as fast as we could before the accident, and clearly, it was enough to give us the edge on the rabbit, and not five seconds after its initial flight it was caught and stabbed by the knife in our hand. A satisfied grin set itself on our face, as we flicked the animal's blood off of our hands. _We need to learn how to kill cleaner, but otherwise not a terrible kill._ The mist was beginning to clear, so the sounds were becoming even louder as they were no longer deterred by the watery air.

We looked back at where we had come from, towards our camp. _It may become difficult, but we can survive._

_After all, it's not the first time we've been in this situation._

_And at least this time we're not alone._


	11. The Wasteland

_**Wilson's POV** _

I wasn't going to deny. I had honestly thought that after the whole episode with Webber being crippled, he and WX wouldn't be so aggressive towards each other. Especially given that the latter had seemed almost protective over him- despite the sharp way he showed it. Webber's confusion over WX's gentleness after he had been insane for some time only cemented this thought.

I was totally wrong though.

In fact, their arguments only got more ridiculous. For the moment, they weren't fighting, but WX had gone off _again_ so he wasn't really there to argue with. Webber, on the other hand, was humming while working on preparing a volt goat, which it took WX and I's combined strengths to kill. The creature was a bit bigger than me, but Webber didn't even seem to notice the way it easily dwarfed him in size. His knife gleamed with blood but he paid no attention to it. It was kind of creepy if I had to be honest. I hesitated, then picked up my spear, which had been on the ground by my feet. Webber looked up at me, then went back to the goat. “Where are you going?” He asked. I squinted at him. “What?”

“Are you alright?” I asked. He didn't sound questioning. He sounded almost... sad.

“Yeah? Why do you ask?”

“Well, you sounded kind of sad or lost when you said that.”

“It's nothing. We're just concentrating. Anyway, where are you going?”

Frowning slightly at the obvious distraction, I debated for a moment whether or not to continue to press the subject, but I really wasn't up to getting on his bad side so I went along with it. “I was going to check out that desert WX found. We've only seen the edge of it so who knows what new animals are in the rest of it.”

“Okay.”

I paused for a moment. There was something wrong. _What could be going on in your mind now...? Or, I could just be seeing problems that aren't there. I'll talk to him about it again later when he's not busy._

“I'll be back soon.”

“Good luck.”

…

“I'm leaving I'm leaving for crying out loud _stop chasing me you stupid mutts_!”

The large, blue brute behind me only barked and snapped at me, missing but so close to hitting me I could feel the chill rising from its very fur as though the hound itself was carved out of ice. _And_ _knowing this world's physics that probably isn't far from the truth._ “I wasn't going near your den! I had no plans on even going near any of you!” My patience wearing thin, I flipped around and cracked my spear against the animal's head, causing it to yelp and get flung back a few paces into its pack of friends. The others scrabbled to move around their injured comrade and leaped at me, their fangs bare but falling just short of actually biting my arm off. The ones who lunged forward slowly back away until they were beside the rest of the pack. The ringleader was back on its paws, taking slow steps towards me, watching the spear I held with a cautious eye.

I quickly shoved the spear in the back of my shirt to free my hands while still keeping it with me and lifted my hands, stretching my fingers apart and trying to appear harmless. "See? I just want to get out of here okay? I swear I won't touch your creepy bone hills. Oh- uh, oh dear, you probably want me for your creepy bone hills, don't you? Look, I'm not good for eating. I don't have a lot of meat on my bones, see?" I rolled up my shirt's sleeve to show my thinness. "Oh darn, it's such a shame killing me won't help very much, I guess you'll have to wait for another survivor?" _Am I seriously trying to reason with a pack of bloodthirsty hounds?_

_Wow, okay, stooping down to a new level of crazy Wilson. Great job._ Slowly backing away from the beasts, my spear fell to the ground, but I was too afraid to stop to pick it up. Once I had gotten a good five feet away from the spear, the leader bent its head to sniff at it, not taking its pupil-less gaze off of me for a second. It raised its bluish tinted nose and sniffed the air, fixed me with one last brutal glare, and let out a dismissive bark. Without another sound, the pack turned in unison and slunk back towards their dens. My chest was tight with panic and it was hard to catch my breath, but after a minute or so I was able to move again and picked up my spear, watching out for any more of the oddly colored hounds. We had fought with the hounds before, of course, but these ones with the cold blue fur seemed entirely different. They were much bigger than their black variants, and their fangs were shaped like ragged icicles instead of being smooth and pointed. _Okay, note to self. Don't go near the bone hills in the desert._ I thought, my heart pounding in my ears. I stared in the direction of the monsters before choosing to go another way. I wasn't going back yet, but I was _definitely_ not going anywhere near those hounds.

Eventually, the sand began to disperse, revealing hard gray stone with yellowish speckles underneath it. Along with the sand, the heat began to vanish as well, leaving a chilling frosty feel to the air and bringing with it a bitter wind. Teeth already beginning to chatter, I wrapped my arms around myself, attempting to keep some of the heat from leaving my body. _I need to get back_ , I thought, looking towards a mound of green. _A hill. I believe I've seen that one before, actually._

I decided it was my best bet and made my way towards it. I was just a few yards to the hill before the world seemed to flip over and my legs shot out from under me, sending me to the rocky ground and pain shot of the base of my spine. I lay on the ground for a time, trying to gather the energy to move. After several minutes had passed, I dragged myself to a sitting position, feeling the ice I had slipped on clearly now as it had mostly melted due to my body heat and soaked into my shirt and pants. My spear was a few paces away, and I realized that if I had fallen in any more awkward position I could've fallen on its point and stabbed myself on pure accident. I crawled over to the weapon again and used it to stand up, realizing the icy water had numbed any pain I had previously felt. I took a deep breath then continued my way, albeit at a much slower pace.

By the time I finally got back home, WX was already back from who-knows-where, a small chunk of meat in his hand. At first, I thought everything was calm. Then, I noticed he and Webber were having a glare-off, watching each other in total silence, unnaturally still, with similar angry expressions. “Oh dear, what did I miss this time?” I asked, hoping to break the awkward silence. As if it was a cue, they both looked at me, and the tension disappeared.

“Oh, hey,” Webber said, looking towards the empty fire pit.

“Why were you glaring at each other?” I pressed, exasperated.

“GIVE ME A REASON AND THAT'LL BE PART OF IT,” WX huffed, and I rolled my eyes.

“Did you find anything?”

“Nope. It got way too cold before I could.” I purposely, yet uneasily, left out the part about me getting chased by the blue brutes that were the hounds.

"Cold's right!" He exclaimed, his breath billowing out in a cloud. I laughed a little bit and started to set up the fire. 

…

The next day it snowed.

WX seemed to be having a confusing time, trying to discover why rain seemed to affect him but snow, which was essentially its cold, powdery cousin, did not. Webber, on the other hand, appeared to be completely unable to decipher exactly _what_ he was feeling. He flinched every time a snowflake landed on him, yet he still acted giddier than usual. Amusingly enough, I even caught him sticking his tongue out a couple times to catch the flakes in his mouth. 

It was almost adorable to watch, actually. I wasn't going to say as much, in fear he would get mad or embarrassed, but I enjoyed seeing an almost cute side to the typically prickly spider boy. WX didn't look anywhere near as amused as I felt. In fact, he actually looked quite annoyed, as though he hated this new side of his rival for some odd reason. I frowned but didn't say anything.

“THIS IS ONLY GOING TO MAKE OUR SURVIVAL HARDER,” WX commented, coming to stand beside me. “I HOPE YOU HAD PLANS FOR THIS.”

“Haha, nope. I don't.”

He deadpanned. “YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT?”

“Well, _I_ don't have a plan.” My gaze shifted to Webber and I pointed at him. “ _He_ , however, might.”

“YOU'RE SERIOUSLY GOING TO RELY ON THE HALF-BRED SEVEN-YEAR-OLD FOR OUR SURVIVAL.” He rubbed the sides of his head, around where his temples would be if he were human. “YOU DO KNOW THIS IS LIFE OR DEATH, RIGHT?”

“Of course, but unless you have some magical ability to survive like he can I think he's our best bet.”

We watched Webber in silence for a second as he pounced on a snowflake, smiling childishly as it landed on his forehead instead. “HE'S A PRETTY POOR BEST. WE ALMOST DESERVE TO DIE IF WE'RE RELYING ON THAT THING.”

“Don't jinx us,” I said, trying to make him smile again. It was always the oddest and most interesting thing when the arrogant robot smiled. But he was already looking away, holding out his hand and letting a couple white specks gather on it without melting before he closed it into a fist.

“I WASN'T JINXING US. I WAS TELLING THE TRUTH.” he replied in almost a whisper, before stalking away to check on the fire.

I blinked, almost scared for a moment. What was he trying to say? I gulped and felt my breath get shaky, and suddenly I wasn't so sure I wanted to know.


	12. Together We Stand

_**Webber's POV** _

_“Come on! It's fun!”  
_

_“No! It's way too cold!”_

_“You're such a baby.”_

_“Am not!”_

_"Are too!"_

_“The snow's too deep anyway! There's no way I could walk in that!”  
_

_“I am! Come on! I will drag you out here!”  
_

_“And I'll tell Mom on you!”_

We sighed, scratching at the frosty dirt. Our mind was fighting itself. One part was excited to see the snow again, but we found it hard to stay joyful. We couldn't stop thinking about... about... who? _Amber eyes_ , our mind recalled unhelpfully. _Wow, that definitely helps a lot. Thanks a lot, mind._

_“What are you guys doing?”_

_“He won't go out into the snow! He's being a scardy-cat!”_

_“I'm not a scardy-cat! I'm warm!”_

We dug our claws into the palm of our hand and clenched our teeth. _Stop._ We flinched as there was suddenly a hand on our shoulder. Digging our claws in further- while threatening to draw blood- we looked up at Wilson, who sat next to us.

“Are you okay? I mean, I know you said you were, but... I don't think you really are.”

"We're fine," I insisted. He looked concerned, and before we could even comprehend what was happening he had his arms wrapped around us in a tight embrace. We stiffened at first but relaxed and returned the hug. 

“You know you can tell me about anything, right?” He said quietly, still hugging us.

We hesitated for a moment, before nodding. “Yes.”

"I know you are probably lonely and sad, but you still have us- WX and me." 

“We know. It's just-” we cut off and nearly kicked ourself for even hinting at our mental torment.

He broke away, looking us in the eye. “It's just...?”

We quietly reached upward and dug our claws into our left arm. _You're an idiot._ “It's just... why are we trying so hard to survive here?” We let out a tortured huff. “Everything wants to kill us already, and we can almost guarantee that we won't get out of this place. So why are we trying?”

Wilson frowned down at our arm before making eye contact again. “Have you felt this way the whole time?” He asked, sounding shocked.

We nodded slowly, looking away and not wanting to meet his gray eyes again. _We're weak. We're sorry Wilson... we aren't strong... we aren't brave._

“You can't just keep all of this from showing,” he said unexpectedly. _Oh, right, we're still having this conversation._ "You're just going to make more harm for yourself. We're trying to survive because we need to persevere. Your strength isn't proven by your thoughts or beliefs. It's proven by what you do. Pretending like you can't do anything will only make everything worse. And look at everything you've done already!" 

“We haven't done anything!”  
  


"We've survived this long!" He exclaimed, and we began to wonder how much of this was pep talk and how much was him trying to sound epic. At this thought, we couldn't help but smile a bit. "You've survived getting attack by a _literal tree god_ for science's sake!”

That caused a faint bout of laughter, and when we looked back he was beaming with undisguised glee. _He believes in us_ , we realized. _He really believes in us._

“Come on.” Wilson stood and reached out his hand to help us stand too. “Let's defeat this world together. It's three of us against one stupid world.”

We gratefully took his hand and looked up at him, trying not to laugh at his obviously melodramatic display. _Well, he certainly made us feel better_.

“NOT BAD.” We nearly jumped out our fur at WX's comment. Oh yeah. He was here too. “A BIT OVER THE TOP, BUT NOT BAD.” He shrugged, looking more amused than anything. We felt a twinge of annoyance, but we didn't say anything. “I COULD'VE DONE WITHOUT THE HEROIC OUTRO THOUGH.”

"We could've done without your comments though, so we're even," I snapped, and in the corner of our eye, we spotted Wilson's grin only widening. _Why could he be pleased now?_

_Oh. Guess he notices that we like fighting. Curious if he'll purposely start fights between us. Doubt it, but it's kind of nice to know he'll most likely not be breaking up arguments between us anymore._ “ _I_ COULD'VE DONE WITHOUT YOUR EXISTENCE!” Beside us, Wilson exploded into laughter.

“That is the most childish comeback I have ever heard in my entire life.”

“We could annoy you, you know,” I told WX. “We could annoy you _so_ much.”

“YOU ALREADY DO.”

“More than usual.”

“I'M NOT COMPLETELY SURE THAT IS POSSIBLE.”

“Want to test us?”

“GO AHEAD AND TRY, HALF-BREED.”

“You really want to test us? Are you sure about that?”

He gave us the 'I'm-waiting' look and we snickered.

We started to sing, quietly at first but quickly turning into a fast-paced, loud flow of words. It was a song that we had learned from our father, a quick, catchy tune that took far too long to learn the words to.   
  
  
"That sounds like a complicated song," Wilson remarked.   
  
  
"AN ANNOYING SONG, MORE LIKE."  
  
  
"How long have you been listening to that kind of music?"

  
  


“Since we were born.” We shrugged.

  
  


"Well, I'll admit you have one heck of a taste in music." 

"IT'S ANNOYING. MUSIC, IN GENERAL, IS ANNOYING." 

  
  


“Ah, no wonder you are so terribly unhappy with life, WX. How can anyone think music is annoying?”  
  
  


Wilson took a step back as though acknowledging he was no longer part of the conversation. We spotted a glimmer of excitement in WX's eyeless gaze as he curled his hands into fists. We bared our fangs, feeling the adrenaline pump through our veins. We weren't sure if he was aiming to hurt us, but he swung a fist at us anyway. Not even bothering to dodge, we caught the punch and thrust his arm into the air, readying our other hand into a counterattack, but before we could land the hit Wilson grabbed our fist. “Let's not.” Narrowing our eyes, we dropped our arm.

“This isn't over.”

  
  


“YOU KNOW IT'S NOT.” He paused, then winked. Shocked by the gesture for a moment, we returned it.

“We'll get you later, paperweight.”

  
  


For a moment, we could've sworn we saw him smile a bit. “I LOOK FORWARD TO IT, HALF-BREED.”

  
  


  
  



	13. Divided We Fall: Part 1

_**Wilson's POV** _

“YOU'RE A MORON. YOU TOOK US ONE STEP TOO CLOSE TO DEATH, HALF-BREED,” WX hissed to a defiant Webber.

“ _We_ 're the moron!?” Webber shouted, sounding completely enraged. “We could've saved your life you ingrate! Besides! We tried to go _away_ from the death-monster that wanted to eat us.”  
  


A lone spark flew away from the robot's shoulder, but he didn't pay much attention to it. “YOU KNOW VERY WELL WATER COULD KILL ME FAR MORE PAINFULLY THAN ANY BEAST.”

“It's all about you, isn't it?”

WX sharply pointed at me. “HE NEARLY DROWNED.”

“You're _so_ afraid of water,” Webber taunted. “when really if anything's gonna kill you painfully, it's us.” WX took a threatening step forward, his fist preparing for the punch.

“Stop it!” I barked, thrusting my way between them and holding them at arm's length away from me. “You two have been arguing since we got back and I'm sick of it!”

Two enraged pairs of eyes turned to glare at me- one pair white and the other pair non-existent. “Good point Wilson! You were the one that decided to go that way even though there was something _clearly_ there that wanted to kill all of us!" Despite the fact neither Webber nor WX was my size- WX's height brought him to about my nose and Webber's barely above my waist- they were beyond intimidating when they were both glaring at me with such intensity either might attack at any second. 

“It was none of our faults! It was a simple mistake anyone could have made! Perhaps a mistake that _needed_ to be made to learn about this world!”  
  


“YOU FORGET THIS IS THE SAME ONE THAT WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO RUN RIGHT INTO THE BEARGER,” WX sneered.

“And you two got attacked by a tree guard not three days after we came here,” I growled, my patience wearing thin. I took a deep breath, trying not to lash out. “It's winter. We can't keep arguing and fighting like this if we want to survive it.”

“WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS IF THE GENIUS ACTUALLY PLANNED SOMETHING.”

“Look here.” Finally snapping, I abandoned my stance to keep the two apart to shove my face into WX's. “We need each other to survive. We've made it this far together, and we can get through this together.”

“WE DON'T NEED YOU, SCIENTIST.” Before I could even respond or comprehend what was going on, I was flung backward, holding my nose as the world tilted and pain blossomed through my face. Something warm and sticky was dripping through my fingers, and it took me a second to realize exactly what happened and jumped forward instantly to return the punch. Before I could, however, I fell, still dizzy after the sudden trauma to my face. In the corner of my eye, I saw Webber lunge towards him, his knife gripped tightly in his hand as he apparently aimed to stab the robot in the chest with it. WX spotted the attack, though, and quickly grabbed Webber's dominant hand, apparently squeezing it a bit judging by the expression on the boy's face.

WX ignored him and instead glared down at me. “YOU ARE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE,” he spat, and it took me a second to realize he was still talking to me. “YOU AREN'T STRONG, YOU AREN'T FAST, YOU AREN'T EVEN SMART EVEN THOUGH THAT'S WHAT YOU APPARENTLY PRIDE YOURSELF ON. WE _DON'T NEED YOU._ ”

“You're wrong! I'm the only one who knows anything about medicine and wounds!”  
  


“We wouldn't need that if we never got hurt,” Webber answered, breaking away from WX's vice grip and rubbing his wrist with muffled growls.

“Oh? And you think you can fight beasts like _that_ on your own?”  
  


“WE WOULDN'T _HAVE_ TO FIGHT THEM IF YOU WEREN'T ALWAYS GOING OUT OF YOUR WAY _TO_ FIGHT THEM!”

I narrowed my eyes, switching the hand holding my nose and pulled myself to my feet. “You know what? Maybe you're right.” I grabbed my spear and grabbed it tightly until my knuckles popped. “And maybe I don't need you either.” With that final comment, I turned and marched away, and I could feel their gazes boring into my back. _No more. They can go get themselves killed if they want, but I'm not going to be a part of it._

…

_**Earlier** _

_**...** _

“It's too cold,” Webber complained, his breath billowing out in a cloud. “We're gonna freeze to death.” He looked up at the frosty branches above us. Even though this place had been a beautiful place during the fall with its multi-colored leaves, seeing the birch forest in winter was an even more amazing sight. The firey leaves that had clung to their perches in the months before now carpeted the ground and shone with a certain sparkle only frost and snow could give.

“Nonsense!” I replied cheerfully. “You're just being dramatic.”

"I'M NOT PARTICULARLY ADVANCED IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF YOU MEATSACKS," WX mused. "BUT I'M PRETTY SURE COLD CAN KILL YOU QUITE EASILY." 

“It's not _that_ cold. Besides, we haven't all been exploring together since... well, I don't think we ever have, and I'd like to do that before it _actually_ gets cold and we have to deal with that.” I crossed my arms as Webber rolled his eyes- which was quite impressive given he had no pupils.

“Fine. Have us catch our death of pneumonia, see if we care when you idiots get yourselves killed without us.” He shoved me in an almost affectionate manner. He was in a surprisingly good mood considering his recent bout of mild depression. I laughed a bit and continued walking, but Webber stopped suddenly, his whiskers twitching. “We shouldn't go there,” he said uneasily. WX and I just looked at him.

“Why not?”

“We've learned to use our gut feeling to figure out where to go.” He shook his head and pointed towards the path I was following. “That's not safe.”

“YOU'RE BEING RIDICULOUS,” WX scoffed. “THE ONLY THING THAT'S NOT SAFE IS STANDING AROUND IN THE COLD WAITING TO FREEZE TO THE GROUND.”

“It's not safe!” He insisted. “We know! We've survived out in the wild before. You have like- what- a couple of months of experience?”

"It doesn't matter. We're going to keep going." I scowled at the kid. He had to learn sooner or later that he wasn't the boss around here. Given his age, he shouldn't even _be_ out there. For all we knew, he could've been lying about everything. 

“You're going to regret that,” he hissed, but he followed anyway.

The path was actually better lit than the one we had been on previously. Bramble and brush had been shoved away as though it was a path often used by others. _Maybe other humans!_ I thought hopefully, the idea bringing speed to my feet.

In hindsight, I couldn't have been more wrong.

Eventually, we reached a vantage point of the forest. You could look at it and see the entire wood, including a distant smudge I assumed was the savanna that separated the birch forest and the forest of evergreens that our base was hidden in. That wasn't what caught my attention though. Beside me, Webber stiffened with fear and even tough WX froze. For the longest moment, we weren't able to speak, and the silence felt unnatural before Webber finally broke it. 

“That's a big deer,” he hissed.

As though the sound of his voice wasn't as quiet as it had been, the monstrous beast was obviously alerted to our presence. It was far below us and probably a mile away, and considering how steep the landscape fell away from where we stood, it shouldn't have been able to get us. The moment that single, vicious eye locked on me, a deep feeling of dread made its way into my chest.

It was a certain feeling I was about to die.

I knew I was about to die.

I tried to take a step back but my legs refused to listen. The Deerclops and I stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. It roared and took a step forward. The ground shook under its enormous weight. "Guys," I forced out, even though my throat felt like it was full of gravel. As though breaking them from a trance, they slowly turned to look at me. "Run."

The calmly give order conflicted with its urgency, but they picked it up. Behind us, I could hear the beast's heavily thumping feet as it gave chase. I was going to die.

I was going to _die_.

I risked a glance behind me only to have pure terror drive me to run faster as the Deerclops cleared the drop in a single bound, its eye red with anger. WX was just behind me, and Webber was ahead of me. I gritted my teeth and pushed my body to its limit. I was already running out of breath, and even if I could think of a way out of this I couldn't breathe well enough to tell the others.

I was trapped in this state until I ran out of breath and then? What would become of me? Well, I'd probably get eaten by that one-eyed monster, so that wasn't really an option. My sense of direction had long since fled me, and I just blindly followed Webber's lead. When he stopped I barely stopped in time to keep from crashing into him. "What are you doing? _Move!_ ” I shouted, but he shook his head stiffly. I looked beyond him to see greenish blue motion, sloshing endlessly around until it met the sky and most likely even further.

The ocean.

It was the end of the line. Just as WX skidded to a half beside me, Webber flipped around with a scowl. The Deerclops, as though it had realized its prey was cornered, seemed to grin as it slowed down, apparently content to literally scare us to death.

“Jump.” WX and I sharply glared at him.

“IMPOSSIBLE.”

“Is that all you've got?” Webber challenged the Deerclops, stepping a bit closer to it. Now that it was up close, I could see just how large it truly was. It was taller than three of the trees around us put together and then some. It terrified me. How Webber was able to walk towards it like that was far beyond me. “Chasing pathetic, starving, and weak humans to their death?” He bared his teeth. “That's just sad, even for such an oversized throw rug.” He spat the last two words.

“We have to jump.” Desperation began to sink in as WX shook his head. “He's going to get himself killed if we don't.”  
  


“YOU'RE GOING TO GET _ME_ KILLED IF WE DO!” He protested.

I frowned, trying to think quickly. The Deerclops took a step closer to us, nearly shaking me off of the cliff face. “Hold your breath.” I didn't even have times to register Webber's words before I had been shoved over the edge.

I was in free-fall, the waves rapidly coming closer. I took the deepest breath I could muster before I hit the water. I felt my legs being caught by the undertow, but the adrenaline rush and the frantic flight drained me of almost all of my energy. I just managed to look up, seeing that single eye one final time before it turned and stalked away, apparently satisfied with how dead we were.

…

I coughed up a lungful of water, the salt stinging my throat and making my eyes water. I rolled onto my side with a soft groan, coughing up somehow still more water. _How much did I swallow_? I wondered dazedly.

"You're alright," Webber breathed- the first sign that I wasn't alone. I squinted up at him, trying to blink away the blurriness to make our any details of his face. I tried to speak, but my throat was burning too much. "WX is okay too. He's back at camp. We waited for you for a bit but when you didn't appear we came back for you." 

“How long was I out?” I croaked.

“A couple hours at most.”

I frowned and struggled into a sitting position.

“ _Are_ you okay?”

“I'm fine.” That wasn't completely true. My limbs felt like they were made out of lead and my head felt like it was full of cotton.

“We'd better get back soon, then.”

…

I tossed my head to the side. It didn't matter. I didn't need them. My spear weighed heavily on my shoulder, but the I admittedly like the sensation that there was something other than me. Half of the forest was in between the other two and me before I was able to relax. I took a deep breath and pressed my back against a tree and slid to the ground. I clenched my fists. If they didn't want me, I didn't want them. It wasn't survival anymore, it was a contest.

A contest I didn't plan on losing.


	14. Divided We Fall: Part 2

_**WX-78's POV** _

Admittedly, my entire outburst had only a single reason.

I was absolutely terrified. I could only think of one other occasion in my entire life I had ever been so scared, and I wasn't particularly fond of that subject. Slowly, as though any faster movement could alert that beast again, Webber bent down and picked up his knife, which had fallen when I grabbed his hand. He didn't meet my gaze, but I could hear him breathing heavily like he had been running. Neither of us said anything for a long moment. Both of us seemed to be trying to get used to the fact that Wilson had just walked off like that.

I wasn't sure how long we stood in silence and stillness, but eventually, Webber threw his knife towards the empty fire pit, the end sticking in the ground. Without a word, he picked up a handful of dying leaves and twigs and threw it into the ring of rocks. I just watched as he began to set up the fire. 

Finally, the silence was broken. “You shouldn't have done that,” Webber said heavily. “Now what will we do?” Without pulling the knife out of the ground, he grabbed the hilt of it.

“JUST WHAT WE'VE ALWAYS DONE.”

“Just without Wilson,” he added quietly.

For a moment, the only sounds were the crackling of the newborn fire.

“Why _did_ you do that?” He asked, staring into the fire.

I had no reply. I had no idea why I went off at Wilson. I wasn't sure if I was just very mad or if it was a side effect of the temporary short-circuit or what. Not that I would let him know of my confusion. “HE WAS A BURDEN.”

“ _You're_ a burden,” he mumbled.

“I DON'T NEED YOU EITHER,” I informed him. “I COULD LIVE JUST FINE BY MYSELF.”

Webber finally looked up from the fire, a wry grin on his face. “Well, _why_ don't you do that then? Oh wait, let us guess. Some pathetic excuse about you being super nice and awesome and looking after the little kid?” His voice hardened, as though his shock was gradually turning into anger, and he stood to face me. “Guess what, WX? We've survived on our own before. You haven't. You need us. We- however- don't need you.”

“I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE NOTICED YET BUT THIS ISN'T EXACTLY EARTH.”

“You guys keep saying that word. What does it even _mean_?” He crossed his arms.

I puzzled for a moment over what word he was talking about. “EARTH?”

“Yes!”

“YOU'RE AN IDIOT.”

He looked offended. "Look, it doesn't matter. See- see this?" He parted his fur around his knuckles and held it out for me to examine. A trio of long, deep scars was marked across them. "Those scars? Yeah. We got those from living out here. And this?" He showed off another scar on his shoulder. "This too. So yes, we are very serious about living out in this world by ourself. So, you can stay or you can prove your stupidity by leaving." 

“IT'S NOT STUPIDITY. IT'S STRENGTH.”

“Is that what they're calling it now?” He sounded mockingly thoughtful. His clawed fingers twitched as though he was really in the mood to claw me in the face. I clenched my fist. If he lashed out at me, his claws would barely do anything against my metal skin. Plus, I'd be perfectly justified in punching him back. I almost wanted him to try. “Either way, paperweight, it's your choice.”

He looked so smug. It made me want to punch him even more. Refusing to satisfy him with a response, I walked past him and to the fire. Webber laughed in a way that sounded crueler than anything. "Coward! Afraid to deal with the big bad world all by your little lonesome?" I grabbed my bag and weapon, my 'eyes' closed. When I finally opened them again and looked back, I saw that his teeth were bared in a sneer. 

I graced him with one final action. The hardest punch I could muster right in the lower jaw before stalking away, giving no final words. I assumed that the previous damage done to the boy's jaw had weakened it without much proper time to heal, and the renewed blunt force had broken open old wounds, mainly judging by the audible _crack_ and the fact that the second I hit him he doubled over in pain. I didn't care anymore. He made his choices and I made mine.

Even if he wanted to he probably couldn't have shouted anything at me, and even though I refused to look back I could feel his ice cold glare burning into my back. He was so certain that he could survive on his own- so certain that he was the best of us three- I was desperate to prove him wrong.

Even if that meant leaving him for dead.

It was quite an amusing yet depressing though at the same time, the latter most likely due to the fact that that would mean I wouldn't be able to watch his certain demise. Whatever. It didn't matter I would probably stumble across his dead body anyway.

Somehow that didn't seem to help matters much.

Naturally, my first instinct was to try to find Wilson again, but my mind instantly shot that down. He was most likely still mad after I had driven him out, and he needed time to cool down before I tried to talk to him again. Which, of course, left only one viable course of action- trying to make it by myself. Which surely wouldn't be too hard for a robot of my build. I couldn't help but puff out my chest a little, feeling almost proud. No world was too strong for me to handle! I was a loner! I didn't need anyone else!

Of course, that would be the very time everything would go downhill. 

There was a hill that Wilson had talked about going over when winter first started. It connected the pine forest and the rocky land beyond. I, in my high-and-mighty state of mind, made the very same mistake that Wilson had made that nearly landed him with a mangled leg. 

I wasn't listening.

Instead of an obvious hollow _thump_ that signified the arrival of a giant, it was a different kind of footstep- my own. I had noticed that the ground had felt slightly different but I thought little of it. If I had been paying attention, I would've noticed the way that my footsteps echoed instead of being absorbed into the ground. In barely a second I went from feeling like I was on top of the world to falling.

The ground caved in beneath me, unable to support my weight like it had Wilson's. For a moment I was certain I was about to die. The floor below me- if there was any at all- was hidden away in shadow, so hitting it was about as sudden and jarring as you could get. I was temporarily paralyzed by the impact, but slowly I regained sensation in my limbs. Sitting up was painful. I had just managed to lift my arm to try to stand when something caught my eye. I completely froze, hoping whatever it was would go away. Whatever it was shrunk and disappeared for a moment before reappearing, and I realized what they were.

Eyes.

Someone, or some _thing_ , was watching me. Now determined to not show weakness to the strange monster, I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the pain and wobbliness and the fact that my knees refused to lock into a standing position. I glared in the direction of the eyes, and I got a better look at them. They were big and round, and a shade of red that looked closer to pink. After a moment of basically having a staring contest with them, another pair of eyes, a deeper red this time, appeared next to the first. This creature was holding a sort of berry in its mouth that glowed, showing its face and giving it an almost creepy glow. From what I saw, the creature was spider-like and white, but that's all I could really make out. The spider took a few steps closer to me before dropping the berry and scampering back into the darkness.

My gaze flicked to it and back at the eyes. They just seemed to be... waiting. For what? I couldn't tell, but I definitely was not eating that berry. I glanced up but it appeared that I wasn't going to be able to escape that way. The creature with the pink eyes hissed something at me, and I couldn't help but flinch. Apparently, both of the red-eyed creature and the pink-eyed creature were spiders. Interesting. I wasn't entirely sure of how much time had passed before the spiders retreated, never once attempting to get closer to me or try to communicate again. By now, the sun had been gone for quite some time and the only thing keeping me from getting slaughtered by the beast in the dark was the strangely glowing berry at my feet. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Cautiously, I bent down to hold the fruit. 

I looked beyond the cave, my mind working hard as it tried to find a way out of this mess. Going back up from where I fell from was out of the question, considering that the entrance was far above my head. I wasn't too fond of exploring the cave by myself, so my train of thought went right to 'wait for a rescue'. 

Ahh, nope. That probably wasn't going to work either. Most likely, Wilson thought I was still with Webber, and Webber probably thought that I went to find Wilson. I slowly lowered myself into a sitting position. Even if they didn't think that what would make them want to try to rescue me in the first place. 

They would never look for me.

I brought my knees up, resting my chin on them. There was a strange feeling inching its way up my spine. Some sort of emotion that I could not properly comprehend. I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew what it was, but some part of me wanted to deny it.

Guilt.

I felt bad.

Robots couldn't cry, that was a proven fact. It was scientifically impossible even if some sort of mechanism was implemented to allow it. But at that moment, that guilt pressing at me like that, I felt closer to tears than I had ever felt. _Stop that. It's the darkness getting to you,_ I told myself furiously, but no matter how many times I told myself that, I knew it wasn't true. I hated being alone. I hated others but I hated being alone more. The lonely feeling of solitude... it wasn't something I could deal with for long.

“The biggest mistake I made in your creation I'm sure.” I nearly cried out at the venomous voice behind me. I jumped into a standing position, all of my aches gone as pure terror flooded my senses. No longer was I in a dark cave with no light, and no longer was I alone. The floor, ceilings, and walls were made of an eerily clean white tile, and the... the... _thing_ in front of me brought back far too many memories. I quickly backed away, trying to escape but my back quickly connected with a wall. It (the monster was far too terrible to be referred to as he or she) chuckled softly as though noticing my sudden and intense fear. "I was right about you all along, wasn't I?" 

“NO...” I managed to hiss. It looked faintly amused. “YOU'RE... YOU'RE NOT HERE. YOU _CAN'T_ BE.”

“Oh good, you figured it out yourself. I was afraid I would have to explain the concept of a conscience to you as well.”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?” I took advantage of a millisecond of bravery to take a step forward.

“The real question is, what do you want from _me_?” Its voice had a way of sticking into my head, tainting every thought with the fear of death or suffering. “After all, what more could _I_ want?” There was a pause that I did not deem it necessary to say anything or talk back at all. Two massive metal claws descended from the ceiling. The panic instantly set in.

_Those claws grabbing me and lifting me by the shoulders._

_The sound of metal hitting metal as they crushed me, little by little_

No!

But this time, they were not empty. They held no intent on smashing me or damaging me this time. In fact, they dropped two, fairly large objects on the floor in front of me before retreating. I stared at the two objects in a continued silence. One, the more disturbing one, appeared to be an eyeball, my size or even bigger, without an eyes socket to contain it. The other was a pale, rounded shape with tiny sparks of electricity jumping around on its surface. It- my creator- motioned to the two objects, and I slowly began to piece the clues together.

“THE... THE EYE OF THE DEERCLOPS AND EGG OF THE MOOSE? HOW...? WHY...?”

It fixed me with that glowing orange glare for so long I began to get uncomfortable. “You'll understand soon. But for now, you have something to do.”

I opened my mouth to ask what but before I could I had been thrown out of the strange vision. I looked down at my hands and saw them shaking like crazy. That was why I was here. Because anything was better than that place. I was more cared about here than I ever was there, no matter how much they hated me. Nothing could ever surpass the hatred it felt for me.

I had to live with being the biggest mistake ever created in its eyes.

I was a failure.

A flaw.

But that wasn't me anymore. I wasn't there anymore. I straightened myself. I was a _survivor._ No more were the days where death was constantly lurking over my head. No more were the moments when I feared that I would collapse and never boot up again. 

But I had a job to do.

And it was time to do it.


	15. Divided We Fall: Part 3

_**Webber's POV** _

Silence. Sweet, sweet silence. For the longest time, all that we ever wanted was someone else to talk to, but now that we had it we just wanted them to stop. We basked in the lack of noise for the first few minutes, but eventually, it got eerie. The chill of winter had driven insects and birds and animals away, so no noise drifted through the air at all. Our ears rang. Weariness began to set in. Usually, this was the point we would try to make some sort of small talk, but there was no one left to talk to. What we said about living in the wild by ourself for a time was very true, but the season of being near others had softened us. 

We were pathetic now.

We shook our head, a soft growl rising in our throat. We had to prove we could survive without them. We _could_ survive without them... right? _Of course_ , the scoffing reply echoed through our mind. _You're being ridiculous with your... self-doubt. You know very well you don't need them to survive._ They _need_ you. _When they realize that... they'll come crawling back._

For a reason that had nothing to do with being cold, we shivered. Where the dark thoughts had come from was far beyond our knowledge. We thought briefly back to the memories of playing in the white, powdery snow and vaguely remembered being innocent. Time had been cruel to us, though, so by now, this innocence had long since fled us. _Yes, but that innocence has given way to strength... and speed... your intelligence can use some work though._

_Ah, gee, thanks, insulted by my own mind. Flattered._

_Are you really so gullible?_

We closed our eyes and laughed lightly, wryly. Alone for barely an hour and we had already resorted to arguing with ourself? What was the point? Eyes still closed, we bared our teeth. _We just need to get our mind off of... things._ Telling ourself this was no hardship, but for some reason standing up seemed a much harder task than it used to be.

_Relax. Go out. Get a breath of fresh air. Clear your mind._

_Relax, Webber._

_Breathe._

We took a moment to recompose ourself, flexing and unflexing our claws in an attempt to relieve some of the tension built up in them. We couldn't stop working. We could hardly believe how cold it had suddenly gotten. _We need fire- or warmth of some kind._ We tried to keep from shivering as we slowly dragged our gaze across the snowy and barren landscape. _Yes. Out. Out for supplies and... to clear your mind._ We briefly thought of the tree guard followed by the bout of insanity, and we dropped our gaze to our feet. Were we really strong enough to stay out here ourself? It hadn't even been a week before we had been crippled by that blasted tree monster, and we didn't have any clue as to how long it took for insanity to kick in. But hadn't they taken care of us both of those times? Weren't they really the reason we were still alive?

_Of course not,_ that slightly familiar voice scoffed. _You survived by yourself... well, not_ quite _by yourself._

_What do you mean?_

_We had each other, didn't we?_

A chill, more fierce than any other chill we had encountered, racked through our body. _Is... is that who you are?_

_Proudly._

_Oh._ As though the realization drained us of our remaining energy, we completely gave up the idea of going out and opted to just let our knees buckle right there. The voice scoffed again.

_You know, lying there isn't going to do anything, except for maybe get both of us killed. And it'd be a shame if that happened._

We slowly picked ourself up again, listening intently for the voice to speak up again but to no avail. _It must have been a figment of our imagination. Again. Argh, we won't be able to do anything if we fell insane again._

_We say as though it's a disease, which it might as well be now._ Without thinking about it, we began to move forward, towards the forest. _We need to build something to keep us warm and..._ our stomach growled. _We need food too... can you help us with that?_

Part of us wanted to see if that was all imagined, and judging by the lack of response, it probably was. We forced ourself to raise our chin and puff out our chest a little bit. As though if we convinced ourself that we were strong without them we would be.

We weren't sure exactly how long we had been walking before we had really started to freeze. Our fingers were numb, and the numbness was quickly spreading to our hands and legs. We paused for a moment to breathe warm air into our palms before squinting and looking around. Our mind had been so focused on the freezing air that we didn't even consider where we were going, and it was pretty safe to say we were totally lost. Confused, we turned on our heel to consider the surrounding area. _Over there it appears the forest thins out... maybe we could figure out where we are better where we can see better._ Deciding this was the best course of action- _admittedly because it was the only one we could think of_ \- we made our way towards the thinner trees.

Much like our encounter with the tree guard and Wilson's encounter with the Bearger, we didn't pay attention to the obvious signs ahead of us. The sudden stench, for one, should have been a clear sign not to go that way, but our mind was so much in the distance that we didn't comprehend it until we were face-to-face with one of the scariest things we had ever seen.

Skeletons.

Lots of skeletons.

Almost every single one a human skeleton.

We instantly recoiled, all previous thoughts fleeing our mind in favor of sheer terror. Those were obviously human skeletons, the bones stripped clean of any flesh but the stench of decay was still there. For some reason, though, the skeletons themselves were not what scared us the most. It was the idea that there _had_ been others here, and they _failed_. We were frozen. Part of us wanted to run for the hills, get away from this horrid place as fast as possible. The other half of us- the... 'better half'... of us- was deeply curious as to what struck these other survivors down.

We edged closer to the sight. It appeared there were two full skeletons, both locked in positions of agony, and a scattering of bones that suggested at least another that had been smashed by something. Feeling a little sick, we forced ourself to examine the area even closer, and our eyes caught on something we hadn't seen previously. One of the mossy boulders on the forest floor was, in fact, not a boulder. It appeared that was due to its grayed out color and very mossy covering, but further inspection revealed it to be another skeleton, this one obviously not human. Just the head was thrice our size, and just the sight of it brought back a familiar pain of having a clouded mind and aching head.

_No no no not doing this again_. Panic was trying to settle in, but we forced ourself to back away. Our legs didn't want to move, partially from being paralyzed by fear and partially since the cold had stripped them of much sensation. It was almost unexpected when the terrified signals from our head finally reached the rest of our body and we fled as fast as our legs could possibly move. Trying to take shallow breaths while still getting enough air was difficult enough, let alone the added difficulty of keeping our vision straight ahead. We saw the land fall away in front of us just as our energy began to fail. _Just over this hill... just over this hill and we can relax._

Turns out it wasn't a hill.

The second we reached the crest of it, we noticed our mistake and slowed to a halt. There _was_ no land there. Just like every other time we had run as fast as possible, we had ended face-to-face with the ocean. 

_How are we supposed to run if there's always a cliff in the way!?_ We took a step back, our senses gradually slowing to normal speed. The waves crashing against the rocky cliff seemed to whisper our name, but before we could get any farther back when a hand rested against our back. We were in mid turn to see who it was- _perhaps Wilson or WX came back for us!-_

Only for that very hand to push us forward.

A shout had already erupted from our mouth and the rocks echoed with it by the time we figured out exactly what had happened.

The next second we hit the water belly-first.

It certainly wasn't the first time we had gone into the ocean- _we thought of the Deerclops with a shiver-_ but it seemed much more shocking this time around, probably due to the fact that tiny sheets of ice had began to freeze bits of water and hitting them drove needle-sharp icicles into our skin. _On our own for less than a day..._ the tiny voice in the back of our head chimed. _And already the battle has been lost._

…

We weren't sure how long it had been before we felt something solid beneath us.

We weren't certain how we had survived, nor what those voices in the background were saying let alone who they belonged to...

It wasn't until a claw sat on our shoulder for a good minute until we realized we weren't dead.

Dripping and shivering violently as the water clinging to our fur began to freeze into clumps, we barely managed to open our eyes to glare at the creature that dare disturb our sleep.

It was a spider.

Just... an ordinary spider... that for some reason made the shivers even more violent and our breath catch in our throat. The spider graced us with a pleasantly vicious grin, and waited until we were fully aware again to speak.

“You've been out for quite awhile,” it said in a sneering tone. “Too much water for you?”  
  


“Who... who are you?”

“A friend! An acquaintance! A-well, should I drop the act?” The spider slowly paced around us, examining every dripping fur, ever healed over scar across our body. “I'm part of you, my friend. I'm... sure, you haven't forgotten me.”

Our mind still wasn't working the best, and it rolled its eyes at our obviously clueless look. “Have you forgotten already?”

Oh.

Right.

_Him_.

“What do you want from me?” I rasped.

“A lot of things, but you don't understand. I'm here to help you.” Something tinted our senses, something strong and metallic and warm, but when we turned to look at it, it reached out its claw and pressed it against our cheek to stop us from doing so. “Your.... 'friends'... will be experiencing something similar, so don't be too scared, human.” It stepped away, silencing itself as it probably waited for us to turn and see the thing it stopped us from seeing the first time.

As if the day hadn't been terrifying enough, the sight was somehow even more unexpected and... horrible... then all of the others of that day.

Two items were on the ground in front of us: A bloody horn and a tooth sitting in a rivulet of some glowing orange liquid, possibly lava.

And there were two bodies beyond them.

Two.

A robot's and a scientist's.

_No._

The claw rested on our back, digging slightly into our flesh as to appear as though it was offering comfort but truly hurting us, but we didn't even feel the pain. We were too busy staring at those two bodies.

The horn was in front of WX's. A large hole had been torn out of the robot's torso. If the wound had been any bigger, he would have been in danger of being split in half by the severity of it.

The tooth was in front of Wilson's. A set of three bloody claw marks had been ripped down his chest, his clothing stained an even darker red and blood still pulsed from it.

We held our head as tears threatened to spill into our vision. _Stop it.. you're stronger than that. They mean nothing to you._

_But we can't... no..._

"They're not dead," I whispered, hoping to hear the spider agree to confirm it, but the claw simply withdrew and when we risked a glance at it, it appeared to simply shrug. 

"I would know as much as you, human." It raised another one of its front claws, examining it just as blood from nowhere began to drip down it. "But you'd better find them quickly, or else... heh, well, I'm not completely sure. All I know..." It paused for a moment, as though trying to think or trying to create tension. "Is that either way, you and I will have fun together... forever." 


	16. Divided We Fall: Part 4

_**Wilson's POV** _

Turns out, Winter was _very cold_.

It was even colder when you were alone away from a fire or any other since of warmth.

I blew heart into my already freezing hands and rubbed them together as I trudged along, trying to drive the shivers away from my vulnerable frame. Some part of me was greatly regretting leaving like that, but if I was honest with myself I wasn't completely certain Webber wasn't about to tackle me. And despite the fact he was almost half my size, he was also _half spider_ with _claws_ and _teeth_ and I had nothing like that, so he probably would have had the upper hand.

Shivers of fear joined the preexisting shivers on my arms, and I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a deep breath. I was imagining something that didn't happen- that would _never_ happen. The fact I was imagining being mauled by a _seven year old_ only cemented the fact that I was being completely ridiculous.

What I wasn't being ridiculous about was that I could very easily die out here. I squinted at the sky. I wasn't completely sure how long I had been wandering around, but it must have been long enough. The skyline on one horizon was orangeish pink with the sunset. Even as I stood I could hear the sounds of birds and other animals becoming quieter and quieter. I slowly dropped my eyes to my feet. I wanted to go back so badly. I wanted to go back and sit next to the fire and watch Webber and WX argue and relax.

_If I go back now, they'll team up on me,_ I thought wryly. _Even if I could take on and defeat Webber by myself, there is no way I could defend myself against both him and WX._

And _that'd be admitting defeat! They'll see that I don't need them!_

_But what if they need you?_ A tiny voice pointed out. _Then it's their own fault for chasing me away,_ I thought back furiously. I nodded to myself and looked around the forest, searching for something to make a fire big enough to survive the long winter night and chase away the cold that had settled into my bones.

By the time night had fully fallen, I had managed to get a small fire going. It wasn't much, it probably wasn't enough, but it was something at least. I couldn't let myself fall asleep, the fire was just too weak to allow me to stop caring about it for a minute. It was admittedly hard though... mainly due to the fact it was so cold and being near the fire made me warm, and it was like a blanket, hiding me from the darkness, surrounding me, blanketing me, encouraging me to relax...

_No! Stay awake, Wilson! Stay awake!_

The sky happily obliged in helping and gentle flakes of snow began to drift down from the sky. They landed softly, without a sound, a silent killer hidden cheerfully behind a mask of frost. I frowned at the fire. _Just a little longer. Just stay awake a little longer... if you fall asleep this fire will go out and you WILL freeze to death. Or get killed by the Night Monster. Or some other terrible fate I can't think of right now._

Daytime was a long time coming. A long, _exhausting_ , time coming. But it finally did come, and when it did the fire was still alive. _First thing's first, I need to find a way to keep myself awake._

My mind instantly turned my feet to the side, and I wondered for a moment why. _Oh, right, the frog ponds.. maybe a little cold water would help._

I didn't want to waste the precious fire though. This was the only thing that stopped me from moving that very second. Hesitantly, I grabbed some fairly thick and sturdy branch from nearby and let it hover in the fire for a moment until it caught. I was careful not to move it too quickly as to kill the newly born flame, but the fire took to the wood much better than it took to the damp grass, and it stayed steady. I shoved the hand not holding the torch into a pocket and puffed my chest out.

I wasn't that easy to take out.

I wasn't that easy to take out!

Filled with rather forced determination, I set off towards the ponds. The snowfall from the night before had become heavier, and as I walked the heaviness only increased. I paused, squinting through the snow as it stung my eyes. _I need to get to shelter first..._ the chill was enough to wake me up finally, but that was no longer something I cared about. The wind was picking up as the snowfall tried to turn into a full-on blizzard.

And yet... below the sound of the howling wind... below the sound of my panicked heartbeat...

Was that coughing?

I frowned and kept my gaze low, trying desperately to keep the snow out of my eyes. It didn't matter if that was someone coughing. They were probably going to die anyway, just as I was. The sound soon disappeared, and I assured myself it was just a figment of my sleep-deprived imagination. In the corners of my eyes something black whizzed past my vision, and I glanced up.

Naturally, this was a mistake.

Along with the blast of ice-cold snow whipping me in the face, something suddenly wrapped itself around my ankles, and before I could struggle to get them off I tripped, hitting the ground awkwardly. It wasn't a hard landing, but it was a cold landing. The shadows around my feet retreated, and they swirled together vertically in a pillar for a moment.

_Is this what dying is like? Is this me hallucinating? Will those shadows turn into something to escort me to the afterlife?_

The figure, however, was not at all familiar. I could make it out as being tall and thin, but its silhouette didn't give any indication to any other features. The shadows drew away, just leaving me and the silhouette.

I didn't even notice that it had stopped snowing in a perfect circle around us, and the blizzard raged on around us.

It slowly walked towards me and offered a hand. I was still breathing heavily due to the exertion of pushing through the blizzard for so long, but I took it anyway and it pulled me to my feet.

Its hand was cold and slippery, almost slimy.

**“You seemed to have fallen,”** the figure commented. Its voice was impossible to describe or comprehend, but if I had to, I would explain it as 'feminine yet masculine, deep yet high-pitched, cheerful yet filled with hatred'.

“Yeah... thanks for helping me up.” I narrowed my eyes, trying to put out distinguishing features. “Who... are you?”

The figure shrugged, a movement that sent ripples all down its incorporeal body. **“No one important to you... yet.”**

“Yet?”

**“Let's just say we aren't supposed to meet until much, much later.”**

“Wait...” I took a few panicked steps back, trying to put the pieces together. I wasn't even cold anymore... like the presence of the figure eliminated everything deadly. “Maxwell...?” I didn't even mean for my voice to sound so hostile, but the thought of that arrogant grin resting on me again made me want to punch the nearest living thing.

It laughed. **“No, no. Maxwell is... the master.”**

“Master? You're one of Maxwell's creations?”

**“I existed long before the master,”** it circled me, its body warping and shifting unnaturally. **“You are lost?”**

“I-I guess you could say that.”

**“You are alone as well... I could have sworn you had more people.”** It paused. **“They are lost as well.”**

“Lost? No, they're back at camp.” I frowned. “What do you want from me?”

**“I want to assist you.”** It waved its arm, a tuft of silver-black fur suddenly appearing in its palm. I cautiously reached out to grab it and shivered at the oily texture. **“The fur of the beast mortals like yourself call the Bearger,”** it announced. **“One of the five items needed for your escape.”**

“One of? What are the other four?”

**“Your friends know the answer,”** it replied simply. Behind the figure, more of the blizzard lifted to reveal a pathway... a clear pathway. **“Go to them. They understand now that you need each other.”**

I was left with my mouth half-open. “Wait! How would they understand!” I looked back at it, and it was gone. _No!_ “What is your name!? Who are you!?”

The edges of my vision darkened as the same voice echoed through my mind, accompanied by the incredibly loud and piercing sound of tinnitus. **“I am the demon that comes when you call its name...**

**I am your greatest Nightmare.”**


	17. Six Feet Under

_**Webber's POV** _

We could hear a storm raging above us. The sprawling cave system beneath the surface echoed with the gale winds, and every once in awhile we'd stumble across a snowdrift that had sneaked in from the surface. Naturally, we numbly ignored them, still partially frozen from the Ocean's icy water and still terribly shaken from the encounters with the skeleton and... _him_. Every time we closed our eyes we saw those two mangled corpses. Every time a drop of melted frost dripped from the ceiling and landed on us our mind instantly saw it as blood.

The guilt was by far the worst part.

The guilt of chasing them away because we were angry.

The guilt that we might cause their deaths.

Worst of all...

The guilt of making them think we didn't need them.

We needed them. We needed each other. We looked up at a crack of pale light from above, shining down on barren rock. We had been walking through a field of light-producing flowers for... most likely all day now. It hadn't gotten any warmer as the day progressed, but it hadn't gotten much colder either. In fact, it was probably safer down here than it was up there. It didn't really help our situation much considering but at least we knew it could've been worse. The light from the flowers kept us safe from the darkness, but it illuminated our poor condition all too well, namely the shards of ice frozen to our fur and whiskers. We almost unconsciously ran our claws through the clumps, as though trying to be presentable again. We allowed our eyelids to droop shut, walking without really looking where we were going. If we walked into the darkness who really would care? Nobody would even notice we were gone... 

Perhaps it was pure luck? Or maybe there was some greater force watching over us that day, although that was something that, in our mind, had been debunked thousands and thousands of times. No matter the reason, destiny saw our predicament, our readiness to die.

And whatever the reason, destiny just wouldn't have it.

Maybe it had been hours, maybe days. Or maybe, it was only a few minutes, but after some time of walking alone in that field of glowing berries, we happened upon the greatest stroke of luck that we had ever had upon entering this part of the world.

We happened upon WX.

Which, perhaps, probably shouldn't have seemed like such good luck, but we saw each other from afar. We didn't question how he got here. We didn't question why we were so happy to see him. We didn't question anything. Before we even knew what we were doing he was right in front of us and we literally hugged him. He let out a faint noise of protest, perhaps a mixture of disgust and shock as well, and shoved us away, looking fierce.

Though... did we see our relief mirrored in his eyeless gaze?

“SO, YOU _DID_ FAIL.”

Oh, right, now we remembered why we yelled at him in the first place. Feeling guilty again, we looked away.

“THAT'S SURPRISING, HONESTLY. YOU NOT DENYING THE FACT THAT YOU CAN'T SURVIVE WITHOUT US, THAT IS.”

“You don't have to berate us...” I responded quietly, still feeling faint with glee. “We know what we did was stupid, you don't have to tell us.”

How in the _world_ did he manage to look even smugger? 

“You're in the same situation, aren't you?!”

“WELL,” he spread his arms and motioned to the field, looking the slightest bit helpless. “IT APPEARS SO.”

“Were you really going to try to lecture us on something you did as well?”

For a moment he was silent, examining every inch of our frost-clumped fur and every ice-tipped hair. “AT LEAST I DIDN'T NEARLY FREEZE TO DEATH ON THE WAY DOWN,” he pointed out.

“You obviously didn't have such a graceful descent.” We looked pointedly at his shoulder, which looked like it had been smashed, most likely when he fell.

He narrowed his 'eyes'. “DID I NOT HIT YOU HARD ENOUGH TO BREAK YOUR JAW LAST TIME?”

“Already on the threats? Can't we wait to try to kill each other until we're, you know, not each other's only hopes of survival?”

He sighed, one of those 'that's a good point but I don't want to admit it' sighs. 

“As soon as we get back you can make all of the scary faces you want,” I promised, smiling pleasantly.

“AND FIND WILSON,” he insisted.

We tipped our head. “Wilson won't _want_ to come back,” I scoffed. “He's too confident in his own powers. Moron, he's going to get himself killed...” Our voice faded out as the 'know-it-all' look became more and more apparent on the robot's face. “Don't you-”

“YOU DO REALIZE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU WERE DOING.” WX crossed his arms. “I DON'T THINK HE'LL BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT US. IT'D BE A PITY TO STUMBLE ACROSS HIS CORPSE.” Despite his fairly harsh words, actual hints of concern crept into his expression. _He cares, he just really, really, really hates showing it._

_We can understand that..._

“Well anyway, standing around here doing nothing isn't going to help. What do you suggest?”

"THERE'S NOTHING THAT WAY," he started, pointing at where he came from. "EXCEPT FOR A HOLE VERY VERY VERY HIGH UP. AND UNLESS YOU ACTUALLY HAVE SOME USEFUL SPIDER TRAITS LIKE CLIMBING THERE'S NO WAY WE CAN GET UP THERE." He promptly grabbed the nearest light fruit from its plant and took a bite of it. "AND IF WE GO ANYWHERE ELSE THE FIELD ENDS." He was silent for a moment before adding quietly, "AND I AM NOT CERTAIN YOU CAN LAST MUCH LONGER WITHOUT A FIRE..." 

“We'll be fine,” I insisted, suddenly worried that even he noticed that we were off. _How bad is it really?_

Another flash in our mind: crimson blood, loose bolts, crying, screaming.

“WHATEVER YOU SAY... BUT IF YOU SUDDENLY DROP I'M NOT COMING BACK FOR YOU.” We couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

“If you suddenly drop it'll be us holding the knife,” I quipped without even thinking about it. He looked almost amused for a moment before he started heading to our right, where the field seemed to go on.  
  


“COME ON, LET'S FIND A WAY OUT OF HERE.”

We continued walking, just like before. Unlike before, though, we weren't alone, and although WX himself was as cold as the stone we walked on we didn't care. We didn't need him for warmth, we needed him because we felt weak without him. We lapsed into silence, neither of us having a reason to say anything and, at least for us, the concern of another cave-in was heavy on our mind.

Speaking of which, destiny decided that today wasn't fulfilling enough so it stepped in again. This time, it made itself known once more with a bang.

Or, a clatter more like. A clatter of rocks falling from the ceiling. Both of our gazes snapped to the roof at once, the idea of a cave-in suddenly becoming more of a reality. Fate was being nice this time around, though.

Only a small circular portion of the ceiling fell away, a giant heap of snow falling into the newly created hole as well.

In the meanwhile, we heard some sort of... grumbling noise in the distance.

In the circle of light produced by the hole, a shadow appeared. A very unbelievable and very familiar shadow. “WHAT...?”

“Heyyyy Wilson, we were just talking about you!” We called up to the man, who looked more confused than ever.

“The shadow creep was right!” He shouted back, beaming. WX had his face buried and was muttering something along the lines of 'this can't be happening'.

"Let us guess! Your friends are in danger and/or dying and/or dead!" 

“And they're right here,” Wilson added sheepishly. “But yes, you're right as well. What are the _odds_!?”

We exchanged a glance with WX before returning his grin. “So, you know how you're up there and we're _not_?”

He laughed to himself, a sound that echoed through the caves almost endlessly. “I get it, you knuckleheads. I didn't realize it'd be so far down...it's too far for a vine or a branch or anything...”

We tipped our head, listening to that growling sound growing a bit louder.

“NO ROPE?”

“Too far.” He shook his head and disappeared for a moment, probably trying to wrack his brain.

Around that time is when the first worm attacked. It was so sudden, so uncalled for, that the enormous creature rising out of the ground was enough to send us flinching so hard we nearly fell over. Dark fur covered its entire, long body is purple and midnight-blue stripes, and jagged teeth were _everywhere_ in its gaping maw as it roared to the ceiling and dove back underground.

We were getting very tired of panicking at this point.

There was a pause when everything was quiet again before the worm surged upward again, one of its dagger-like teeth scraping our abdomen as it moved just passed us. We growled. The wound already stung but it wasn't anything compared to some of the things we already had to deal with.

Wilson continued to watch from above, his gray eyes becoming more and more concerned with every passing moment. His eyes widened and he disappeared from view once more, but we were too busy trying to dodge the worm to really notice. When he reappeared, he had the 'I'm-about-to-do-something-really-stupid' expression. “Use the worm to get up here!” He called after a moment's consideration.

“What!? Are you insane!?”

“When it comes up grab the stem on its forehead!” He called back. “It might be the only way!”

“YOU'RE CRAZY!” WX protested, but before he could complain very long the hit him with its tail so hard he fell and slid a few feet.

He was right. That might be the only way.

Putting on a brave face, we narrowed our eyes. “Are you alright?”

"I'M FINE," WX insisted, getting back to his feet and looking angrier than ever. 

“Then follow my lead.” Before he could protest again, the worm resurfaced. The very second its head rose from the ground we were moving, and then we were on its head, holding onto the plant stem sprouting from its head. And then, once again, before we knew it we were on the surface again with the help of Wilson. We were more than content to sit on our hands and knees and _breathe._

Before we had even finished catching our breath WX had joined us on the surface, looking just as shaken as we felt. And of course, just like he always had been, Wilson was crouched at our side, concern etched into his face as he gently patted our back. We didn't say anything- we couldn't in fear of just collapsing right there, but we smiled at him. The most legitimate smile we could manage, and we could see it in his eyes. That's all he wanted. That's all he needed. Finally, we managed to get enough of our strength back to surprise hug him, and he didn't hesitate to hug us back. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you...”


	18. Eye Can See For Miles

_**Webber's POV** _

The bitter cold of winter seemed far away now. The muffled chirps of snowy bluebirds that lived in the barren landscape were the only thing that broke the uncomfortable silence. 

Well, that and the sound of the fire crackling nearby. It was strange how much the sound came as a relief to us. It didn't even occur to us before that we didn't have any hope to hear it again. Gradually, our senses returned, and we became acutely aware of how, despite the heat that was heavy in our fur, there was an underlying chill we could not shake off. We stretched, uncurling from the ball we didn't know we had curled into. Wilson, disturbed by the movement, glanced down at us and smiled. We instantly felt our cheeks flush with embarrassment, but the fact that we had essentially cuddled up to him all night for warmth was not brought up at all. A moment of silence passed before he turned back to the fire. We stifled a sneeze and blinked up at him, even though he wasn't looking at us anymore. Finally, we couldn't hold it in anymore and sneezed anyway, a small and childish sound which _definitely did not help our pride in this situation at all_.

"You just can't keep yourself out of trouble, can you?" Wilson chuckled. "I've never known anyone more prone to the elements than you are." 

We looked away, burning with shame.

“It's... not hypothermia, right?”

He shrugged. “I'm pretty sure you just got a cold. Which isn't surprising, considering you were soaking wet in the middle of winter away from the sun for who-knows-how-long. What did you even _do_ to get so wet? Take a swim?”

“That's... closer to the truth than you'd probably think,” I admitted ruefully.

He quickly gave us an alarmed look.

“We were pushed,” I added quickly, not wanting to seem even stupider than we already did. “by a shadow.” _Should've left that out..._

Instead of laughing or making fun of us for believing a shadow could do such a thing, a deep frown replaced his smile. He opened his mouth to say something when one of the frozen bushes crackled and WX pushed his way out of the undergrowth, wearing a similar stern expression. “WE WEREN'T FOLLOWED,” he said. He looked a bit worse for wear but considering the circumstances, it could've have ended much worse. _For any of us._

Wilson nodded, his gaze remote for a moment before clearing. “I saw a shadow,” he murmured after a moment.

WX scoffed as he sat beside the fire.

“It wasn't an ordinary shadow though. It...” he took a deep breath. “It talked to me.”

WX perked up at this, as did we. “WHAT DID IT SAY?” WX pressed warily.

Wilson looked back at the fire. “It's... probably nothing. Just imagining stuff...”

An uncomfortable silence settled over us. We took a deep breath- making a sniffing sound due to congestion from the cold- and sat up a little straighter, bringing our knees to our face and resting our chin on them. “I saw my spider,” I said after a minute. Two shocked gazes turned on us, and we shrank in our own fur.

WX tore his gaze away and concentrated on the fire as though some secret message was written in it. “I... I SAW MY CREATOR,” he murmured in a tired tone. We were almost certain we didn't imagine the quiver in his voice.

“Okay, wow, I thought my vision was the craziest. _What_ are you talking about, seeing your _spider_? Like, the one that supposedly _ate_ you?”  
  
We nodded miserably.

“I ASSUME THIS MEANS WE ALL SAW THE SAME THING, EXCEPT BEING HAUNTED BY OUR WORST NIGHTMARES,” WX said breezily. _How horrible must that be? Being afraid of your only parent? We couldn't... we couldn't bear to hate our parents..._

“That was what _he_ told me,” I confirmed. “The... seeing the same thing part...”

“So is that what we're supposed to do? Kill the abomination that is the Bearger?” Wilson tipped his head.

“The Bearger? No, we saw...” our voice faltered. “the tooth of the Dragonfly and the horn of the Ancient Guardian...”

There was a pause before WX added his own. "EGG OF THE MOOSE AND EYE OF THE DEERCLOPS." 

Wilson groaned and put his head in his hands. “Are you _serious???_ We have to kill _all five???_ ”

“We couldn't even take on the Deerclops...” We hunched our shoulders sadly. “Guess that means we're stuck here...”

"Don't be that way! We can do this!" Wilson looked at us to WX, then back again. His determined expression fell slightly. "Guys?" 

“IT'S A SUICIDE MISSION,” WX pointed out.

“It's not something we have to do _right now_.” Wilson protested. “We all just got done with a pretty big scare.... but we gotta know if we're going to try or not.”

“Why would we? It's suicide either way.”

“Maybe? But at least if we go for this it's suicide with a _purpose_.”

“I WOULDN'T MIND NOT HAVING TO ENDURE ONE OF THESE STUPID WINTERS AGAIN,” WX murmured thoughtfully. He motioned towards us. “HE PROBABLY WON'T EVEN LAST UNTIL THE END OF THIS ONE.”

We scowled, and judging by the look on Wilson's face, he agreed with WX. “We're stronger than you think we are.”

“TREE GUARD, INSANITY, NEARLY FREEZING TO DEATH...”

“Alright, alright, we get it. But we're still alive, aren't we?”

“BECAUSE WE'RE PULLING YOUR WEIGHT. DIDN'T YOUR TIME ALONE TEACH YOU THAT?” A spark of tension shot between us as we bunched our muscles, preparing to finish his beating.

"That's enough!" Wilson snapped. "The last thing we need is for you guys to fight again or science forbids break us apart again." 

We growled softly but sat back again, our claws itching to wipe that smug grin off of WX's face.

Wilson pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “So are we going to do this or not? Do you guys want to take our chances against the world or do you guys want to take out these beasts?”

There was a pause as we considered the options. “I think we should go for the giants.”

“I THINK YOU'RE BOTH NUTS,” WX grumbled.

Wilson looked at us and sighed again. "I have to be the tiebreaker, don't I? Alright." He flipped his book over- which he had previously beside him- and flipped through its pages. He stopped on the Moose. "Since we've already run into the Deerclops this winter, I don't think we will again. This is our best bet for the first giant. We need to separate her from her nest before we fight her." 

“IT'S THE EGG WE NEED,” WX pointed out.

“Yeah, but I don't want to fight her and the moslings at the same time.” He paused as though waiting for another question to be asked, but when none was he nodded once and went on: “She's the spring giant, but it's fairly easy to find the remnants of her nest during the other seasons.” He snapped the book shut and stood again, tucking it away under his arm. “So let's go find that nest.”

“...now?”

“Now.”

We growled softly as we forced ourself to stand. Now us and Wilson stood over WX, who leaned back and made a motion that looked oddly like he'd be rolling his eyes if he had any. “NEITHER OF YOU WILL EVER UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I HATE YOU,” he muttered as he stood up as well.

“Great!” Wilson exclaimed as though WX hadn't said anything. “All three of us! Back together again! Beating the elements and soon to be beating the giants!” He turned on his heel and hummed quietly as he marched towards the savanna.

We smiled, angling our face down so they couldn't see or hear as we hummed along to the familiar tune. The blizzard had died sometime before we woke up again, but the snowdrifts left over from it was well over our head. Where it wasn't a snowdrift, it went about as high as our knees. We dropped behind a little, due to being the smallest of the group, but we took it to our advantage. As soon as we knew we were out of their peripheral vision, we slowly grabbed a handful of the snow, which crunched and compacted satisfyingly under our grip. We spent a few more seconds rolling it in our hands a few times before throwing it at Wilson and diving beneath the snow before he could catch us, hyper-aware that our black fur would stand out against the snow like a sore thumb but for once not caring. 

Wilson jumped at the impact of the snowball and turned quickly as though expecting something terrible to be there. "Webber!" He exclaimed, sounding actually a bit shocked. We peeked over our little hiding place only to get hit in the forehead with a similar snowball. We fell back dramatically, trying to hide our laughter under a fit of sneezing. "Has anyone _ever_ told you that you sneeze like a kitten!?” He teased.

“We'll show you who sneezes like a kitten!” We lunged forward and threw a handful of loose snow over his head. He quickly stepped back and sneezed as well due to the snowflakes.

“ENOUGH FOOLING AROUND,” WX, who had stopped to watch the miniature snowball fight, said sternly. “WE HAVE ACTUAL WORK TO DO.”

Wilson simply looked at him for a second before throwing the snowball he had prepared for him. 

WX backed away a little, trying to brush the sticky snow off of his chest.

_It's amazing how something as little as snow can make us feel... myself again..._

We playfully tackled the robot, not any real force behind the action but enough to send him down. Anger flashed in his eyeless gaze and he kicked us away, driving the air from our lungs as he kicked our stomach to send us off of him. We hit the ground on our side, not actually getting hurt but getting the breath knocked out instead. We looked up, our eyes wide with shock at the sudden change of atmosphere. His 'eyes' were wide too as he shakily forced himself to his feet again. “DON'T. DO. THAT.” He growled.

We looked down and nodded, not wanting to get into a fight after feeling like a child like that again.

Beneath us was a smudge of blood.

We took a sharp breath and jumped back. _Did he actually hurt us???_

It wasn't on our fur though, and we weren't hurt as far as we could tell...

Wilson frowned and made his way through the snow to look at it. He hesitated, then carefully dug around it. Our heart began to slow as his digging revealed that it was not blood, but it was the color of blood.

He pulled the object away from the snow and brushed remaining flakes off of it, turning it over in his hands a few times. “What... is this thing?”

“SMART. FIND A WEIRD THING IN THE SNOW AND _PICK IT UP_. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT BEING OUT HERE THIS LONG TAUGHT US,” WX huffed, his arms crossed.

It appeared to be a small bone with tiny horns coming out of the red bulb on top. The red bulb rested on a patch of brownish fur. He shrugged and made a motion to throw it away.

The bulb suddenly parted in half to reveal an eye.

“YOU IDIOT!” WX shouted before he seemed to be able to stop himself. At the same time, Wilson threw it as hard as he could. All three of us held our breath, paralyzed in fear of what Wilson may or may not have summoned.

_We're gonna die, aren't we?_

We quickly glanced to the side as footsteps crunched in the snow. We were the first to hear it due to our superior hearing, but soon they turned too.

_Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._

The creature made itself shown.

Our first reaction was fear, but it was quickly shoved down. It bounced above the snow, its orange skin standing out against the snow just as bad as our fur did. Two white horns protruded out of its head, and four, sturdy, red legs were keeping its body just below the snow's top.

There was a moment of awkward silence as we tried to figure out if we had to be scared of this creature or not. It was still as well, a pink tongue rolling out of its mouth as it panted like a dog. It licked its chops, looking around (although it could barely be considered that due to its apparent lack of eyes) before stopping, facing the bone. It bounced over to it and picked it up in its mouth, before bounding to Wilson's feet and dropping it.

“Is it... hostile?”

Wilson seemed lost for words as he picked up the eye bone. “I... I think it's a friend...”

“Have you seen it in your book?”

“I... have no idea...”

More silence.

“Can.... can we keep it? We've always wanted a dog.”

“NO!”

“I... don't see why not if it's not hostile...”

“ARE YOU BOTH IDIOTS?”  
  


“Probably,” I snickered, bending over the creature and patting its head. It panted with joy and licked our hand.

“Don't worry,” Wilson scoffed. “I'll make sure he's not some sort of vicious creature. Just in case, though, don't get too attached to him, Webber.”

“We won't!” I lied as the creature tackled us in into the snow. A spark of warmth lit in our chest. _It's been a long time since we've been able to laugh like this._

We sighed happily, hugging the creature we just met.

_It's been a long time..._


	19. Nightmares and Daydreams

_**WX-78's POV** _

There was ice beginning to form on the tip of my spear and in between my fingers. The hot, dry smell of the desert conflicted terribly with the icy temperature everywhere else, disallowing for any definite strategy for keeping a comfortable warmth. I snorted with impatience. _Any time, now!_

A loud rustling from the undergrowth somewhere near me alerted me that someone else had gotten tired of waiting as well. Webber broke out into the desert, claws gleaming and teeth bared as he lunged for the blue creature who, up until now, had been peacefully munching away. It let out a startled bleat, hopping away. Webber drew back, growling just loud enough for my sensors to pick up. He looked back, caught my eye, and nodded once. I nodded back. Arguments and petty rivalries could be set aside for survival, surely. Keeping low to the ground, he made a wide circle, disappearing to my vision. The goat looked up again, looking in fear of Webber's direction, before bleating again, louder this time, and fleeing straight towards me.

As soon as it was within range, I broke from my own cover and swung my weapon in a wide arc, cracking the beast against the side of its head. It pitched sideways, obviously dazed, and I raised my weapon again, preparing to stab it in its neck. Before I could bring it down, something shoved me aside roughly, and when I looked up again, Webber was on top of the creature, his knife buried deep in its throat. It started thrashing, but he held on, and eventually, its struggle subsided. Only then did he release it and back away, looking pleased with himself. Annoyance welled up in my chest. “WHAT WAS THAT FOR? THAT WAS GOING TO BE MY KILL.”

He smiled in a way that was just asking to be punched. “You weren't quick enough,” he replied calmly. “And it wouldn't stay dazed for long.” He wiped his claws off on his fur before meeting my gaze again defiantly. With a glimmer in his eye, he added, “In a few years, you might be able to be half as fast with a kill as we are.” I tried to think of something to say in response, but he cut me off before I could. “Brr! It's too cold to just be standing around arguing! Let's get this back to camp, shall we? Wilson will think we've frozen to death.”

“YOU SAY AS THOUGH IT WOULD BE A BAD THING,” I grumbled, but had to grudgingly admit he had a point. I pushed past him before he could even attempt to grab the slain animal and grabbed it by one of its twisted horns. Despite the chill, it felt slightly warm beneath my grasp. I gave him a glare, expecting him to protest, but he had already turned away and was walking calmly back to camp. Annoyed, I followed him. _Imagine having to follow the lead of a scrawny half-bred fleshling!_ My mind scoffed. _Oh, how far I've fallen._

About halfway through the forest, I dared to look up and squint through the trees. The sky was beginning to turn darker, and with it, even harsher frosts. Webber dropped behind to match my pace, tracing my gaze to the sky.

“It won't be long until spring,” he commented distractedly. “The air tastes less like ice, more like melted water.” He sniffed. “Smells too much like wet dog, if you ask us.”

“I WAS NOT PLANNING TO.”

He pointed at the sun, ignoring me. “The days have been getting longer. I don't think you'll like spring very much. It's very rainy. Summer will be even worse." He shivered. "The sun will be so hot, the trees won't help to protect us from the heat very much. And the days will be so long, and the nights so short, we won't even be able to rely on using the coolness of nighttime to do anything." 

I glanced sharply at him. “YOU KNOW THIS HOW?”

“We've still been having dreams, you know,” he went on. “We think Wilson has been too. Nightmares are getting to both of us.” He finally looked at me, frowning slightly. “But we can never remember them when we wake up. What about you? Any strange dreams lately?”

“IF I DID, I WOULD NOT TELL YOU,” I snapped.

“Yes. Weird...” He shook his head.

Something caught my eye before I could reply. I turned to look at it, but it was gone. “TAKE THE CREATURE BACK TO THE CAMP AND MAKE SURE POOR WILSON DOES NOT GET SCARED. I WANT TO CHECK SOMETHING.”

“Also known as you're tired of being in our presence.” Webber snickered. “Alright, we get it, you're too _amazing_ and _superior_. Have fun freezing to death out there while we're nice and cozy and warm by the fire.” There was a teasing note in his voice as he grabbed the goat from my grasp, but I remained silent and refused to reply. I hadn't been able to get a good look at it, but it felt important somehow. I waited until he disappeared from sight before changing course and heading towards where I saw the glint of blue light.

The snowbirds flew into the sky with a loud flutter of wings as they officially recognized the coming of dusk. A few braver birds tentatively flew down again to peck at the seeds still littering the ground, but otherwise, it turned almost entirely silent. _I won't be long._

I listened intently to the area around me- I wasn't going to be caught off guard, not again. There was no way I was going to let another... _fleshbag..._ rescue me again. It was humiliating the first time. It wouldn't happen again.

Eventually, the forest broke open into an almost unnaturally round clearing. The first stars were beginning to appear in the darker part of the horizon. In the center of the clearing, a ring of green mushrooms had sprouted, reaching for the sky's last remaining light, but that was far from the most interesting thing I saw.

The middle of the mushrooms harbored a smooth, white-streaked gray rock, just high enough to reach my knees I assumed, despite it being just too far away to tell exactly, and perched on said rock was a person. A _real_ person, not a skeleton, not some weird and random creature, facing away from me. I found myself pausing, trying to figure out what to feel. Should I feel excited to see another living person here? Should I attack him- he could be a threat. But instead, I did the one thing I _didn't_ want to do.

I did nothing.

I just sort of watched him.

He wore a brown leather tunic and a tan undershirt, even though surely the clothing wasn't thick or covering enough to protect him from the temperature or anything else for that matter. He had a mess of short brown hair on his head, and by far, the most interesting part about him was the _sword_. It hung at his side, glowing brightly and shedding blue light on the frost-covered ground and the figure himself, sharp and pristine. 

He stiffened, and then he turned to face me.

His eyes.

They were _glowing_.

All of the instances of glowing eyes in the past hit me hard, but his weren't amber. They were blue- the same blue as his blade. I quickly looked for something to say, but before I could, the air seemed to shift and suddenly, the clearing, the mushroom ring, and the man were all gone. I was left alone, deep in the heart of the forest, with nothing but traces of sunlight to guide me. I stumbled backward, nearly tripping over myself, before turning and running as fast as I could home. I could not make sense of what I had seen, but there was a sense of dread deep in my chest.

Something told me that this vision, tonight, was the hint of something terrible to come.

And we would all be helpless to stop it.


	20. Winter Wrap-Up

_**Wilson's POV** _

“ _He'll never be able to do it! What are you going to do about it,_ huh _Wil_ dumb _?”_

_“That's not even a creative insult!”_

_A splash of cold snow, instantly numbing any skin it got into contact to._

_“Fight back, you weakling!”_

_“How? With his tiny little chicken arms?”_

_Laughter._

A chilly wind ran through my hair, jostling me from the deepness of my thoughts. The sun had not yet to rise, but something felt different. Something about.. the air. Uncertainly, with a hint of fear and concern, I found myself looking at my immediate area, trying to figure out exactly where it was coming from. “Do you feel that, WX?” I called to the robot, half-aware as always during this time of day. He snapped from his own thoughts and turned his eyeless gaze to me.

“FEEL WHAT?”

“That crackling tension in the air...”

There was a pause, machinery humming softly against the silent black night before replying. “IT IS ELECTRICAL,” he said thoughtfully. “AND YET, NATURAL AT THE SAME TIME. PERHAPS LIGHTNING, OR A STORM.”

_Thundersnow? That might be an interesting sight, although I'm not particularly fond encountering it now._

“I HOPE IT IS NOT,” he ended, nestling a bit more into the bark of the tree he leaned against. “BUT THE KID SPOKE OF SPRING'S ARRIVAL. MAYBE HE'S ACTUALLY CORRECT ABOUT SOMETHING FOR ONCE IN HIS LIFE.”

His gaze shifted slightly to the kid in question, bundled into one of the weirdest sleeping positions I had ever seen. He looked more like a heap of black fur than a person.

“It's been winter for what feels like way too long. I hope spring is soon.”

The robot said nothing, probably thinking about rain by the expression on his face.

The sky was beginning to turn paler, milky fingers of light stretching across the nearly black expanse. I stood, stretching, and brushed myself off. “I guess it doesn't matter. As long as we're able to get to that Moose before Spring's end.”

“YOU SPEAK OF KILLING THE GIANTS, YET YOU DARED NOT TO HUNT THE DEERCLOPS?” WX pointed out, standing as well.

“That was... different.” I grimaced. The last thing I wanted, to be honest, was to fight the Deerclops. It was infinitely more terrifying than the Bearger and, according to the book, much more powerful. Fighting the Goose first for her precious down feathers would probably be the smartest course of action.

I chose to ignore that after Spring and the Moose was Summer and the Dragonfly. I preferred not to think about fighting the Dragonfly.

Finally, a ray of light hit me in the face, bringing with it a wind that was far from bitter. I looked around, eyeing the trees around me and watching in wonder as the snow clinging to their branches all Winter began to drip off of their needles. I nearly exclaimed in excitement, but I was abruptly cut off by a rather ungraceful sound of annoyance as a cascade of droplets showered WX, sneaking into his frame and causing sparks to explode from him. He looked frustrated already.

Not to help matters any, the water also woke up someone that would make him even more frustrated.

He stretched and yawned, blinking up at the sky with a loud sniff. “Oi, smells like Spring. Is it Spring?” Webber glanced at WX, a sly smirk coming to his face. “You probably deserve that.”

He was returned with an intense glare, as though the robot was daring him to continue.

“You know, I'm rather hungry,” I intervened before they could start yet another fight. “Maybe we can go to the rabbit holes and get something to eat. Would you be alright with cleaning the animals if we hunt them, Webber?”

The spider boy shrugged as he stood, stretching once more. “Of course. Would hate to see one of you puke because we refuse to.”

I beckoned for WX to follow me, in hopes that it would distract him from the argument. It partially did, given that he still shot a few glares behind him, but credit where credit is due, he followed without verbal protest.

The sun had fully risen by the time we reached the savanna. The air was lighter and fresher than I ever remembered seeing it, and the distant birch forest disappeared into a sea of green. WX scanned the area before huffing. “THEY HAVE HIDDEN AWAY FOR BREEDING SEASON,” he said with a scowl, pacing to the nearest collapsed set and peering inside of it. He kicked the mound of earth at the entrance and turned to face me. “WHAT BRIGHT IDEA DO YOU HAVE NOW, SCIENTIST?”

“I'm thinking, I'm thinking.” I waved him away. It would really suck not being able to stock up on rabbit meat before Summer arrived, but it could prove useful as a catalyst to exploring new food sources... “Perhaps we could try the desert again?” I suggested, but he was already shaking his head.

“LET THE GOATS REPRODUCE. THE LAST THING WE WOULD WANT IS TO DESTROY THEIR HERD COMPLETELY.”

“Well, what bright ideas do you have?”

He pointed to the birch forest on the other side of the savanna with his spear. “NUTS, BERRIES, PIGS. ALL WOULD MAKE A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE OF FOOD.”

“Pigs?” I grimaced at the thought of eating a pig. Surely they would have touch and stringy meat, and the thought of eating something that was able to produce cognitive thought patterns enough to at least speak in broken English...

“ARE YOU AFRAID TO FIGHT THEM?”

“I'm afraid to _eat_ them. It feels... wrong to.”

He scoffed. “THEY ARE JUST ANIMALS, WILSON. DESIGNED TO BE SLAUGHTERED AND EATEN.”

“Well, I'm not going to. I don't care what you eat but I'll stick to things that don't talk to me, thank you.”

He made a face eerily similar to one rolling their eyes. “FINE. I SUPPOSE WE CAN KILL A COUPLE OF BUZZARDS AT LEAST SO WE HAVE SOMETHING WITH SUSTENANCE.” He hoisted his spear over his shoulder. Most of the walk to the desert was in silence, except for a low grumbling noise slowly growing louder and closer.

And the rain started to pour.

WX tried so hard not to react to it, that it was almost comical. His facial expressions voiced his unspoken frustration and anger as sparks flew from him. The suffocating heat of the desert washed over us as we broke out into the wide, sandy expanse. Almost instantly, he held out his arm as a signal to stop, and pointed ahead with his other hand. “THE VOLT GOATS ARE ENRAGED.”

“What? Are you kidding me?” I pushed slightly past him and looked towards the herd myself. Several of them looked rabid- their blue fur was spiked up erratically and their eyes glowed with hatred. Lastly, their mouths were contorted into snarls as they apparently confronted some unknown enemy.

I took an alarmed step backward.

“I BLAME THE KID,” he decided aloud.

I snorted with amusement and glanced at him in the corner of my eye. “Why?” I laughed.

He shrugged. “NEED TO BLAME SOMEONE. ALRIGHT. THROW DOWN THE BAIT AND LET'S DO SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE. UNLESS, OF COURSE, YOU DO NOT WANT TO, AND YOU WOULD PREFER TO STAND HERE UNTIL YOU BECOME PART OF THE DESERT. EITHER IS FINE WITH ME.”

I elbowed him. “Shut up you love us.” I dug through my bag and tossed a stale morsel that most likely belonged to a rabbit at one point onto the ground and waited for the vultures to take the bait.

…

We got home just as the sun was setting. We both dragged two limp corpses behind us, the birds' muddy feathers making small furrows in the ground as we walked. It was still raining, except now it was accompanied by periodic flashes of lightning.

WX's steps were beginning to falter, as though the rain was beginning to get to him.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I paused for him to catch up for the fourth time.

“I AM FINE. JUST NEED TO GET DRY,” his words sounded a bit slurred as well. I frowned in concern, but he waved it away. “I WILL BE OKAY WHEN IT STOPS RAINING.”

“Alright... just maki-” My words were cut off as a particularly loud lighting flash sent me tumbling to my feet, muddying my clothes and ripping the flesh of the birds I held. It looked like lightning had struck right next to me...

Slightly in panic, I looked up to make sure WX was alright, but he seemed unharmed. In fact, he was standing much taller than he was previously, examining his hands curiously as tiny bolts of lightning jumped across his frame. He was _glowing_.

“Are you alright!?”

“SYSTEM OVERLOAD...” he replied softly. “I NEVER EXPECTED THIS TO HAVE MADE IT INTO MY DESIGN.” He clenched and released his fists, as though testing them out. “I AM MORE THAN ALRIGHT.” He took a shaky step forward, as though trying to get his bearings again.

“Were you struck??”

“IT APPEARS SO.”

I shakily got to my feet and rested my hand on his shoulder. I could feel his entire body buzzing. “How does it feel?”

“INVIGORATING,” he said simply. “LIKE I COULD OUTRUN DEATH.”

I took a step back again, nodding. “That may come in useful.” And as if to echo my words, in the far distance, echoing through the pines, I heard the faintest noise- a loud and angry honk. I looked in the direction of it, glaring into the woods. _Who knows if any of us have any other undiscovered powers or abilities. We're only getting stronger by the day._

_Come at us, Moose. We're ready for you._


	21. Shatter

“Watch me, pup, I will show you how we hunt.” Kyra stretched luxuriously, showing off her rippling muscles as she watched her little pup hop up to her. He was growing muscular, just like his father, and she felt a hint of pride. She nodded to a fallen tree trunk that lay on the forest floor just ahead, resting slightly above the ground on a rock. His eyes followed her gaze and he tipped his head.

“Are we gonna hunt a tree, Mommy?” He bared his tiny teeth- clean and sharp. “Imma show my teeth and scare it into submission. Graa!” He lunged at it, but she gently reached forward and nipped his scruff before he could.

“Now, be patient, pup,” she purred. “Hunting is not all about scaring your prey. You must be quick and painless in killing them.”

“Why though, Mommy?” He worked his paws in the earth. “The food isn't hounds. Why do we have to be nice to it?”

“Because all living creatures are like us, little one. We just want to survive. Now, pay attention to me.” Kyra narrowed her eyes, envisioning the tree trunk as the dusty pale coat of a beefalo, before charging at full speed. Her bulk tore away at fronds and brambles until she reached it. Instead of launching herself at it, she feinted to the side and slipped under the trunk, pressing her spine against it and freeing it from its perch. It fell with a thump, and before it had time to settled she was on top of it, her teeth ripping away at bark where the beast's neck would be. Finally, she released it, panting with elation as she dipped her head to her little pup. “Now, what did you see me do?”  
  


But he wasn't watching anymore. His huge eyes were traced on a butterfly, fluttering around his nose before landing on it. He sneezed, and looked back at Kyra innocently. Despite herself, she wasn't able to be mad at him. She padded towards him and nuzzled his neck fur. _Oh, Shatter, I can't send him out to battle. Varg wants him ready by mid-Spring and... I don't think I have it in my heart to._

She licked his cheek, and turned back to their encampment. “Come on, little one, let's get you something to eat.” Like all hounds in the pack currently, her pup had the slightest hint of fat in his cheeks and flanks, but that was alright. They could hunt as much as they liked until Summer, in which the fire hounds would take over as it became too hot for any other hound to bear. She wasn't worried, though. Her friend, Rose, would likely make sure there was enough for all of the pups to have their share.

“Mommy?” Her puppy spoke up behind her, and she slowed down to let him catch up.

“Yes, little one?”

He paused, clawing at the ground before continuing. “What happened to my Daddy?” He asked finally, looking genuinely curious.

Instantly, she felt the pang of grief fresh in her chest. “What do you know about your father?” She asked gently.

“I know he was a big and strong hound!” He said happily. “And he was sweet and loved by everyone. But... what happened to him?” Fire lit in his eyes, something that surprised Kyra and scared her even a little bit. “Did the mean Survivors get him! I'll kill all of them!”

Her steps faltered a little bit, almost terrified of her own puppy. _The pack is corrupting his mind..._ she realized suddenly, but she shook her head to drive the treacherous thought away. The thought had been appearing a lot more recently, and she couldn't help but wonder if there was a better life for him. _No. The pack brings safety, and food, and shade in the Summer. Nothing can be better than that._ “It wasn't the Survivors,” she corrected him gently. “It was a beefalo.” She remembered the scene clearly now, running with the wind in their fur and joy in their steps. Shatter and Kyra running side-by-side, their fur brushing as their muscles stretched and folded to the same rhythm. She had loved her mate with all of her heart, and even though she spent countless nights wondering and thinking and crying, she could never figure out what went wrong- why _that_ time was what brought the mighty hound down.

It was well before her pup was born, she didn't even know that she was carrying pups at the time, but even though there had been whispers spread about her mate disappearing just before she found out she was carrying pups, she knew that they were their's. And now, the rest of the pack couldn't deny it either. No other hound had such a bulky and powerful build. She lowered her head, breathing in the chilly sent of her precious son. She loved him. She loved him with all of her heart. The pack would expect the same of him that they came to expect of Shatter. _He's too tiny... he's so small... please, don't make him attack entire herds of beefalo, please don't think he can do as much as his father could. Please... I can't lose another pup._

“Don't we eat the beefalo, though, Mommy?” His sweet, innocent voice brought her back from her thoughts. “How did the beefalo-”

“I don't know,” she cut him off, just wanting to not be reminded _again_ of how her mate fell. “But, what I do know,” she continued before he could be deflated by her dismissive tone. “Is that there's something very special I must discuss with Varg when we get back.”

…

“Shatter, hmm?” Varg mused, lifting his mighty head from the pool of which he drank. “A powerful name for a powerful pup, Kyra. But it would bear a weight that he might not be able to handle- do you really think he will grow up to be as strong as his father?” His beady eyes met Kyra's, thoughtfully. “Do you think it would discourage him, knowing he might not be able to fill the footsteps his name would set out for him?”

She lifted her chin slightly. “I am very sure, my Alpha.”

Varg shook his head slightly. “If you are certain, then the ceremony shall take place immediately. It's about time he's gotten a proper name.” He shook himself off before raising his head. “It is time for a pack meeting!” He barked, his voice low and smooth. Kyra stood by his side proudly, but then felt that pang of pain return. Shatter should have been on his other side. “There is a pup who has grown into his name. Pup of Kyra and Shatter, stand forward.” She saw the confusion across the face of her puppy as he stumbled out of the den after Sizzle and Ebony. He yawned, then scampered to stand at Varg's feet. Varg nodded to Kyra. “Go on.”

She took a step forward. “Before Shatter and I came to this pack, all we knew was hunting and an owner who cared nothing for us. We were nothing but a tool for his survival, and we got only the scraps of what we hunted. But neither of us could have expected to find such amount of love in this pack and more importantly, in each other. Shatter, if you can hear me now, I want you to know that I still love you, and I wish you were here to stand beside us now.” She dipped her head. “But I have thought long and hard on this, and I realize that you are not fully gone, but you live on in our son. Which is why I request our leader to pass on your name to our pup.”

“Kyra's request is a humble one,” Varg rumbled. “And I accept. From this moment on, this nameless pup shall no longer be nameless. In its place, I pass you the name of Shatter, so that your father's legacy shall not go unremembered.”

She could see the shock and excitement flashing over the newly named Shatter's face, as though he couldn't believe that he had a name now. He didn't move or speak, but finally, he broke away and buried his face in Kyra's chest, laughing and crying at the same time. She touched her nose to his head. “You earned it, little one.”


	22. Duck Duck Moose

_**Webber's POV** _

The sky was clear for the first time in days, thankfully enough. The constant rain was, in all honesty, driving us insane. The rain brought one good thing though- perfect opportunities to mess with WX as he was rendered practically useless by it unless he was struck by lightning, an occurrence that had happened only once that we knew of, that being when he and Wilson had gone out hunting. 

We were all together now, trekking through the slightly less familiar forests outside of our typical pathways and places of interest. We lagged behind the other two, our whiskers twitching with concentration as we listened and scented for any change in the air. We were learning the ins and outs of this new world, no longer were any of us left completely victim to its twists and turns. A new, fresher breeze brought a new scent to our nose, and we paused, growling softly to tell the others to do the same. It was faintly similar to the smell of vultures or crows, but with a musky tang we couldn't recognize. Wilson saw our confused look and looked around. "What's wrong?" 

“Dunno... we smell something we're not familiar with.” A thought came to us. “Maybe it's the Moose? Should we follow it?”

“What do you two think?”

WX shrugged. “THAT IS OUR FINAL GOAL, IS IT NOT?”

“We're ready for a fight.” We rolled our shoulders. This would be our first step to killing the giants. This is what we had been preparing for since the fateful encounter telling us what we had to do. “We've _been_ ready for a fight.” _No more sitting and watching and waiting._

"Alright, lead the way then." Wilson nodded to us, and we obliged, taking the head and following the scent of the Goose. There was the sensation of tingling in the air that grew more intense as the scent grew stronger, like lightning arriving on the horizon. 

The cover of the forest broke out into the frog-infested grassland, but almost the entire valley was haunted by the shadow of a larger being.

We could see her, standing on the crest of the hill. The sun was behind her at this point, making her form nothing but a mere silhouette. Wilson brought in a sharp gasp of air and WX took a step back. She was bigger than we could've imagined.

“Alright, here's the plan.” Wilson seemed to snap out of his stupor and lowered his voice. “There's three of us and one of her. She has strength and size over us, but we have numbers and speed. We need to disorient her, make sure she can't hit _any_ of us.” He nodded at WX. “You're the heaviest hitter of any of us, and you can take the most hits. Think you can try to bring her down? If you focus enough on her legs she'll have to fall, and then we can get to her neck and head.” The robot nodded, focusing on the titanic shape on the hill. “Webber, you're the fastest. Try to keep her attention away from WX, and try to hit and dodge as much as you can. WX might be able to tank her, but you're fast enough to kite her. Got it?”

“Sounds easy enough.” We cracked our knuckles. Our blood was boiling like it hadn't for years- the readiness for battle that we had not felt since forcing ourself to act more civilized.

It felt... good. Addicting, almost. Our senses felt heightened, and we could almost smell the warm salt of the blood running through the massive creature's body. It took us a long moment to realize we were panting, and our face had been twisted into a snarl. It took us a moment even longer to realize that Wilson was giving us a concerned look, but we waved him off before he could say anything. He didn't need to know about this craving for battle, one of the few primitives things left from our other half. Wilson looked unconvinced, but he apparently chose not to protest. Instead, he merely motioned for WX and me to flank the monster. Slightly grateful, but refusing to admit it, we dropped onto a quadrupedal stance to approach it near-silently. 

The Goose was milling around peacefully, hopping around in useless circles as if patrolling- _or maybe, she's just too stupid to have any idea of what she's doing._ Her bulk made the very earth shake, and we could see glimpses of reflected metal as WX was understandably tossed slightly out of his shelter, probably tripping from the vibrations. We, however, were unaffected, easily keeping steady even as the world shook around us.

Her head turned to the side.

She had seen something.

Her body turned as if she were looking at something behind her, and, as if we shared the same mind, we both slunk out of our cover. We could see the egg now, huge and gray with lightning sparking from it.

She honked in surprise as we reached her first, brandishing our weapon. We leaped and channeled all of our power into thrusting it into her leg. The smooth black skin split and her honk turned to rage. She kicked us away, the spear still embedded firmly in her skin, then raised her injured leg to stomp us into the ground. 

WX got there first. His own spear held firmly in his grip, he was at our side in an instant, pressing the flat end of the spear into the ground with the sharp end sticking up. The inertia of her stomp was too great for her to stop in time, before impaling her own foot on the weapon. WX let out a grunt of satisfaction as she reared back. Both spears fell to the ground, and the blood flow from both had already been staunched.

She paused for a moment as if unsure as to which of her pesky targets to hit first. Her gaze landed on us, perhaps realizing that we were smaller and therefore had less defense against an attack. Satisfaction filled our chest as we figured that she probably suspected that we were just any child or easily smashable spider. The Moose let out what we assumed to be a battle cry, her wings flashing out as pure and primal rage twisted her beak into a snarl. She dipped her long neck down and bucked with her horns. For the most part, she missed, but the air from the force of the attack still swept us off of our feet. Her muscles rippled under the feathers of her body as she tried yet again to crush us into the ground. 

We saved ourself this time, rolling out of the way of her attack while grabbing our weapon as we did so. WX had his weapon now, as well. He looked frustrated, but he attacked again nonetheless. His spear buried into the flesh just above her foot, deep enough that the sharpened end protruded from the opposite side of her leg. She didn't seem to notice, her gaze transfixed on us.

She reared back again, but this time her battle cry was caught off by someone else's.

"Go for the eyes!" Wilson shouted, his gray eyes alight with a fire we had never seen from the docile scientist before. In his grasp was not a spear, but instead, a weapon we were hardly familiar with- a glowing blue morning star. He heaved the weapon up, looking slightly strained, and swung at the same place that WX's spear was still embedded in. There was true anger in her honk now. _We won't be able to do anything to her as long as we're only able to reach her legs. Luckily for them, we know what we're doing._ Her attention temporarily focused on Wilson and WX, we disappeared into one of the many trees surrounding the Goose's nest. We scooted up the tree like a squirrel and stuck our head out of the newly growing leaves. The scent of springtime growth was almost enough to override the overpowering smell of bird meat, so powerful it was nearly dizzying.

Shaking our head vigorously, we reached the top of the tree and looked out. She had not seemed to notice our absence, too busy with focusing on Wilson and WX to care that we had disappeared. She wasn't _very_ close, but it was close enough. Bunching our muscles, and taking a deep breath, we unsheathed our claws and lunged at her.

Her eyes caught ours in mid-air. A single, high-pitched noise erupted from her throat.

We were unable to dodge as she flicked her head to the side and knocked us out of the air, her horns hit our rib cage hard enough that we could almost swear that we heard something _crack_. For a split moment, we were almost certain that we were going to black out. It was terrifying, being flung through the air like a ragdoll.

Perhaps this was the reason we managed to stay conscious. Awareness spread through our limbs suddenly, and we managed to roll in mid-air to land neatly on all fours again. We were still intact.

But the failed attempt at a better fighting angle hadn't done anything to relax our mood. Letting out a snarl that rumbled deep in our chest and throat, we grabbed our weapon once more and rejoined the fight.

_“Let me fight.”_

_No. You won't be careful enough to avoid collateral damage._

_“I've always been a better fighter than you.”_

_I don't trust you. Stop distracting me._ We shook our head furiously, trying to clear the webs from our thoughts. We were moving again before we even realized it, throwing up clots of dirt as our claws dug into the ground, with our spear being held in our mouth. We pushed past WX, who was viciously stabbing whatever he could reach of her, anger and determination burning in his eyeless gaze, and took a flying leap. Our claws pricked into the Moose's skin, allowing us to climb up her body almost as easily as we had climbed the tree.

She shook her whole body, probably trying to shake us off, but we clung to her feathers like a burr.

"Webber! Are you stupid?!" Wilson shouted from the ground. We, naturally, completely ignored him. We shifted our spear to our hand, clinging on with all other limbs, and stabbed the sharpened end into her neck. Warm blood bathed our claws, the smell of salt and sweetness overwhelming all other senses. It awakened a primal instinct in our mind, the pure feeling of power and approaching death sending us just inches away from falling into a pit of never-ending rage and bloodlust.

The beast gave a massive shudder, abruptly halting our descent into the blood-driven insanity. She contorted her neck almost unnaturally and threw us off with her beak. Too dazed by our outburst to do anything else, we hit the ground heavily on our side. All of the air in our lungs was lost, but we were pretty sure we weren't hurt that badly. The ground heaved again as the Moose collapsed, blood pumping from her neck wound.

We took a startled step back, blinking several times to clear it. Where did that feeling come from? And there was the Goose, still bleeding into the dirt... our claws shook slightly. Had we done that?

WX, however, didn't seem to be affected by it at all. The second the monster hit the ground, he was moving, his spear poised to strike. There was a sharp sense of guilt, almost enough to force us to call him off, but even if we were to do so, by the time we decided it, he was already sinking the sharp end into her long neck.

The sound erupting from the beast tore heartstrings as if she was truly in pure agony, but WX's grim expression stayed firm as he twisted the weapon, before yanking it out of the wound. Her body quivered as if trying to recover, but that didn't mean that it would help. There was too much blood- one of us, either WX or I, had punctured the artery that ran through her neck. She let out another soft honk, her eyes- _were they always brown, or had we just never paid attention before?_ \- drifting to the nest that she had fought so hard to protect. The egg had cracked at the top, but there was no way the moslings could survive without their mother for long.

We had won.

But it didn't feel like we did.

Had this enormous giant only been protecting its nest? Was there really no other reason for killing it, than for our own escape? What made our survival more important than this bird's? 

Without a word, we inched closer to the Moose. Her breaths were short and shallow, but we knew there was no way she would get up again. _This is wrong. She shouldn't be left to slowly die again._ We raised our own weapon, our entire upper body shaking, and we thrust it into the spot right where her neck met her beak. 

The beast sighed and disappeared into the ground. We didn't feel like puzzling over this fact, simply because there were other things on our mind. _You're going soft, feeling pity for the things you're supposed to kill. What's next, crying over a rabbit?_ We got to one knee, closing our eyes and letting out a long sigh. 

However, we were shaken back into the present world by the touch of a hand on our shoulder. We glanced up, meeting Wilson's worried gray gaze. “Are you okay? That was a pretty bad fall.”

“HE HAS SURVIVED WORSE,” WX mused, sounding to be the only of us that was not shaken. He simply bent down, touching one of the pools of blood and examining the red substance on his finger, before making his way closer to the egg. “HOW ARE WE TO GO ABOUT THIS?”

Wilson took a few steps forward as if planning to stand beside WX, but we stopped him, simply pointing at the widening cracks in the egg. "We're not done." 

At first glance, the moslings looked kind of cute. The first one poked its head out of the very top, its entire body was covered in ruffled feathers, sticking out oddly like they had been rubbed furiously with a balloon. Their beaks were bluish in color, and their eyes were huge and innocent. The first one hopped out, making an odd caterwauling noise as if searching for its mother. It turned its head the other way to look at us from its other eye. In the corner of our eyes, we saw WX get once more into his battle stance, and Wilson's brow furrowed in concentration and worry. The mosling inched its way closer to us, still making that odd honking sound.

It must've taken a second to realize it, but it was finally beginning to realize that something was off- that something was missing.

And of course, it realized almost instantly that these strange intruders near its nest were the cause of this odd occurrence. It flung its wings out almost threateningly, its feathers bushing out until it appeared twice its size. The light of the now-setting sun caught on its yellow feathers, bathing them in a reddish color- _like it's soaked in blood._ Three more of its siblings tumbled out, and the egg shattered into pieces. Electricity fizzed in the air, so heavy that we could hear the static building in the world around us. Wilson's hair turned slightly more insane than usual, and we could feel our own fur bush out in response.

Then, without warning, without a cloud in the sky or a raindrop in the air, lightning cracked through the sky. WX turned his own gaze upwards, and we could see the faint glimmer of hunger glowing in his eyeless sockets, like a craving that needed satisfied. The wind whipped up around us, and all at once, as if on command, all four goslings lunged at us. Lightning struck again, hitting the ground just a couple feet away from us. We took a second to be glad that WX and Wilson would be too busy focusing on the fight to jest at our awkwardly standing fur. We were certain that we looked faintly similar to a deranged, lopsided catcoon. The first mosling landed on us- light and surprisingly soft to the touch despite the crackle of energy that fizzed between us, and its beak instantly clamped around our throat. We could feel the teeth lining the beak of the creature, hidden from sight, but harmful all the same.

Instincts kicked in the second we felt those teeth graze against the sensitive tendons in our throat, and we dropped into a roll. There were a muffled cracking noise and a squawk of protest. Snorting with satisfaction, our claws slid out and impaled the mosling's fragile body, earning a much louder screech of pain as they tore through its skin. Tearing the bird away from our throat we threw it to the ground. This time, the scent of blood and the feeling of ripping flesh startled us slightly, almost making us feel sick. We shook our head furiously, unable to drive the thoughts away, and pounced back onto the mosling we had thrown. Just as we were about to make a killing blow, something landed on our back. It wasn't heavy, but its talons were sharp enough to drive the breath from our lungs. 

Lightning cracked again.

This time, however, it was accompanied by the mosling on our back being torn away with surprising strength. Still pinning our opponent into the ground, we looked up just in time to see the target of the lightning strike. WX wasted no time in stabbing the mosling from the head down, driving it straight into the ground beneath it, before raising his weapon and kicking it off. Whether or not it was dead yet, he raised one foot and stomped it into the ground with a sickening _crack_. The electricity that sparked in the air took a solid form on his frame, tiny bolts of lightning like static flashes jumped between his limbs as he raised his head once more, flipping his spear around and _cracking_ the second mosling across the head.

Wilson didn't quite have his adversary under control. It was the biggest of the four, striking at him before dancing away in a mesmerizing pattern, like a ballad dancer getting all of its moves just right. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he swung out with his morning star, but the bird simply danced and dodged around the futile attacks to hit it. Growling deep in our throat, we wrapped our claws around the neck of the mosling, for just half a second feeling the fragility of the bones in its body, before snapping its neck with a quick flick of our wrist. We left this one to rot, barreling towards the beast that Wilson was fighting and hitting it from behind. Unlike the first we fought, this one was able to throw us off easily, but at least it threw off the careful and graceful movements it had been using to torment Wilson.

WX was at our side as well, reaching our aid in only two bounds, and ditching his spear in favor of brute strength. In almost perfect synchronization, Wilson swung his weapon in a wide arc, cracking the mosling in the side of the face; WX put all the power of his own strength plus the overcharge from the lightning strike behind a final blow, and our claws dug into creature's throat. 

It didn't even have time to lash out. It was a quick, but certainly not bloodless, death.

We ripped our claws away, taking several stumbling steps back. We were panting again, shaking very slightly at the tips of our whiskers. Wilson and WX stepped away from the fallen mosling as well, the latter looking for all the world like he wanted to punch it again, _just_ to be sure.

The sun had fallen by now, but the light of dusk was not totally gone just yet. Wilson walked numbly towards the destroyed nest, lifting up a sizable chunk of the egg that was about the size of our head. He turned back to us, seeming too out of breath to say anything, holding the eggshell out questioningly. His gaze swept over us, and he took an alarmed step back, fear flashing in his eyes before he shook it off.

_He's afraid of us? How intriguing. I wonder why..._

It wasn't until we turned away that we realized our claws were fully unsheathed, digging deeply into our own palm. 


	23. Bloodshed

_**Wilson's POV** _

Scared would typically be the last thing I would describe my emotions, standing face-to-face with a seven-year-old that I had just fought a fifty-foot-tall moose monster with.

In fact, I was pretty sure that had I thought about it before this whole mess started, I would've thought I was going insane. I wiped the sweat off of my forehead, partially formed from stress and partially from just overworking myself, and took a step back. I was shaking, I realized, probably from the fact that my friends and I had just  _ taken on a fifty-foot-tall moose monster and won _ . I had intensely mixed feelings of  _ Oh my God did we just do that?! _ And  _ We could've died _ and  _ WE BEAT ONE OF THE GIANTS HOLY MOTHER OF SCIENCE. _ WX seemed to be satisfied with himself, crossing his arms with none of the energy or fear or guilt that I was sure Webber and I shared. 

This battle did something to Webber. I couldn't tell exactly what it was, and I couldn't be sure of what it was I was seeing, but I knew one thing for sure.

There had been something else fighting with him. It wasn't something I had seen or something I heard, it was something that I just  _ acknowledged _ and  _ felt. _ It was something that was far beyond the forces of science to be able to comprehend. It wasn't good, it wasn't benign.  _ There was something it wanted. _

The first person to break the silence was the boy himself. He shook his entire body- not unlike a cat- and looked up to meet my eyes. “She wasn't evil,” he said at length. His voice was small and timid, more like the little boy he truly was instead of the fierce facade he managed. “Did you see the way she looked at her nest? She just wanted to protect her babies...”

He was echoing my own thoughts. I turned the shell over in my hands, feeling the unnaturally smooth surface brushing against the scrapes I had earned on my hands after using them to keep myself falling face-first into the dirt. Sure, to my little group, we had perfectly good reasons to be killing her, but did she realize this? I was gathering my thoughts to give him a reply, but WX was the first to jump into the conversation. 

Apparently, a more WX-like fashion to replying to someone was to walk up behind him and backhand him heartily. “ANIMALS ARE STUPID,” he huffed. “IT PROBABLY DID NOT EVEN REALIZE IT WAS FIGHTING SOMETHING. THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY SORT OF THOUGHT PROCESS.”

“No, not it. Her.” I bent down, feeling the carefully created nest that the egg had been protected in. With her great size, how long had it taken her to construct this? It was so small... especially to be housing such a monstrous creature. “And, to be fair, WX, that way of thinking could be easily said both ways. Have you ever thought your own thoughts, or have you just always followed the thoughts programmed into you by a human?”

Did he turn his head, only slightly, to glance at Webber as I asked that?

“IN MY DEFENSE, I WAS HAND-CREATED BY THE MOST POWERFUL DIETY TO EXIST.” He tipped his head arrogantly. “YOU SHOULD FEEL BLESSED TO BE IN MY PRESENCE.”

I felt a smile try to force its way onto my lips, but the back of my mind still rambled about how the robot could possibly function. I felt my fingers twitch, wishing nothing more than to have a pencil and paper right now. Could WX feel anything other than what he was programmed to feel? Was there any way for me ever to figure this out?

I shook my head.  _ Focus, Wilson! _ I turned away from WX and clapped a single time, pushing my worries about morality and personal ethics and everything in between to the back of my mind. I let the smile that came with knowing that we had just taken the first step to our freedom crack through. “Do you understand what this means? We're a fifth of the way done with this, guys!” 

“I CANNOT WAIT TO BE DONE WITH DEALING WITH THE LIKES OF YOU.”

I was about ninety-nine percent sure that he was just saying stuff to act big and tough. However, I decided not to bring this up to him, in favor of keeping the bones in my lower jaw intact. 

Webber gave the shard in our hand a dubious glance. "Are you sure that's good enough?" His 'whiskers' were twitching, but I couldn't tell if it was nervousness, amusement, or fear. His voice lowered. "Are you sure we don't have to do that again?" He sounded distant, his gaze glazing over and his claws curling again. A shiver ran down my spine. I had never seen him more spider than human, but that look in his eyes when he stabbed the Moose in the nest, the blood staining his black fur... 

“IS OUR PLAN TO STAND HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND WAIT FOR THE NIGHT MONSTER TO CATCH US?” WX scoffed, holding out his arms, indicating the powerful glow coming from his body from the lightning that had struck him. I felt a pang of jealousy-  _ when was I going to show up with awesome powers that rip someone's throat open or bash a mosling's head in with a single swing _ \- but then I instantly felt fear spawning from these thoughts. Where had that come from? “I CAN ONLY STAY THIS WAY FOR SO LONG, YOU KNOW.”

"Right," I forced myself to say between my thoughts and worries. I had time to worry later when Webber was asleep and WX was in his nightly trance that he seemed to force himself into despite his inability to sleep. Now was the time for optimism. I hoisted the morning star over my shoulder, decidedly  _ not _ nearly falling back due to the weight, and held the shell closely to my chest, trying not to crack it any further. "Safety first. Come on, Webber." I waited for him to break himself out of whatever state of half-consciousness he was in and follow me. He matched my steps, looking quite like he wanted to say something, but also looking too nervous to say whatever was on his mind. It was  _ so weird. _

As soon as I saw our base appear between the thickly placed trees, I was hit with a powerful surge of exhaustion. It felt like we had only been fighting the Goose for an hour at most, but apparently, it had been the entirety of the day. I chose to ignore this in favor of collapsing on the ground next to the unlit fire. I was way too tired to want to light it. I heard WX let out an audible groan of annoyance before starting to do so himself. By the time his system overcharge had worn off, the fire was large  enough to chase away the monsters in the night.  _ Take that Mom, Dad _ came those thoughts that I suppressed so hard. The thoughts that I buried beneath observations and theories and concerns during the day- they always came back out at night. Right on that borderline edge between awake and asleep, just a couple of them would leak through.  _ I told you I could be strong. _

_I told you I wasn't useless._

…

_ I was running through a maze. How long had I been wandering through this twisting and turning labyrinth? I couldn't remember. High walls surrounded me on all sides, threatening to trap me forever in stone and marble.  _

_My eyes were dazzled by a flash of light in front of me- a bright, dancing orange light, that threw orange spots in my vision until I got used to the lightning. The fire was burning on top of two pillars, with no rhyme nor reason as to how they continued to burn. I puzzled over this phenomenon, frowning at these pillars until my eyes hurt._

_Which is probably why it took me so long to see the creature that was standing just on the edge of the shadows cast by the fire. I recognized it- the tall, slim figure that had sent me and my group on the quest to kill the giants in the first place. It was still cloaked in shadows, probably the reason why it was standing in the darkness instead of the light just paces in front of it. I was kind of afraid of what it would look like in the light anyway._

_ “ _ _**One down, scientist. Four more to go,** _ _ ” it said in that weird, warping voice of its. It rose its clawed hand, tiny black flames that gave off no light flickering at their tips. With the slightest flick of its wrist, one of these flames sputtered out.  _

_I stepped forward, shivering at the unnatural way my shoes clicked against the floor, and it continued speaking._

_ “ _ _**Your next fight will be the hardest.** _ _ " It gave me a scrutinizing glance as if it didn't quite believe I was cut out to be fighting. " _ _**But I assume you already know this.** _ _ ” _

_I took a deep breath. “Summer. The Dragonfly. Two tons of pure muscles and scales and fire. With claws that can impale even the strongest of hides.”_

_ “ _ _**It's a shame the fight has to be so soon. If it were just the two of you, you could easily last long enough to fight it after you've had more experience. You two are strong, but I know one of you... who isn't.** _ _ ” It shook its head, making a clicking noise with its tongue. “ _ _**Keep your eyes peeled, scientist. Not everything here is as it seems...** _ _ ” _

I was thrown out of the dream rather violently. Cold sweat dotted my face and back, but the heat from the fire and the soon-to-be-rising sun was already beginning to dispel the fear I had felt in facing that creature. Why did I fear it so much? It didn't seem particularly evil in any fashion, and it certainly had done nothing but helped us so far. 

But there was something I couldn't shake off. Some underlying fear of it that made me cautious of its mere existence. It was hard to explain, but just being near it felt like I was standing near a tear in the fabric of space-time, something that should not- and should never- exist.  _ I should probably be waking up now anyway, _ I thought blandly.  _ But I barely got any sleep... _ I glanced quickly at Webber, who was only a foot or two away from me, curled into his typical ball and snoring softly. He didn't seem like he was going to wake up soon anyway... Shrugging my shoulders, I let myself fall back asleep.


	24. Guilt

_**WX-78's POV** _

The sky was stained pink and red and orange with the rise of the sun. All night, while the others slept, I had watched the sky. Sometimes, counting the stars, but most often just letting my mind wander. Wilson had seemed happy, but also uncomfortable, at the fact that we had killed the Moose, but I couldn't tell what Webber felt. Every time I had looked at him there had been a different expression on his face. Grief one time, glee another, shock, then fear, then guilt, then excitement. I hated to think about it, but I had felt truly overjoyed at seeing the beast fall. Some part of me that I was trying desperately (and more often than not failing) to salvage hated it simply for being a living, breathing creature. So what if it had a nest to take care of? If we had let those moslings live, they would've grown up to be just as much trouble as their mother. Another part of me, that was _decidedly my own thoughts, so take that Wilson,_ wondered if I should be more sad about it. However, even if I tried, I couldn't muster any guilt for it.

The beast had deserved to die. It was more trouble than it was worth. If we had not killed it, it would've killed us. It was simply the circle of life. The new day reminded me that I was, in fact, existing. I shook my head, only slightly, before turning my gaze disdainfully to the other two of my group. They were still asleep, of course. _Weak._ But the thought wasn't as scornful as it usually was. Of course, they were going to be exhausted. It was not their fault. It was the fault of their weak, fleshy and far too easy to harm bodies.

What if one of us had died in that battle? Could the other two make it out without them? If I had died, could they make it without my brute strength? Could Wilson and I make it without Webber's... whatever he contributed to the group? _Of course_ , I mentally added. _I could make it by myself._

But was that entirely true? All of us had suffered painfully for our arrogance in the winter.

_Stop. Stop doubting yourself. That was a single case. An unlucky one, at that._

The rising sun caught the fragment of the Goose's egg, glinting like a tiny sun. Wilson had been clutching it to his chest when he had fallen asleep, but his grip had, by now, loosened enough to where it fell onto the dirt beside him. I hesitated, then slowly began to inch closer to them. I had not touched it since Wilson had retrieved in, primarily due to my lack of caring about it beforehand. I retrieved it, studying it closely and holding it up into the light. To my surprise, it was not just a solid color. Small fragments of something black and green glittered in the pale blue surface, looking quite like distant stars in the midnight sky.

I frowned, just a little. There were so few stars in this world, even on the clearest of nights. _Where did I see that...?_

Instinctively, I looked up at the brightening sky. There were many things that the old sky held that this one didn't. For one, I had a very faint, vague memory of clouds that appeared in light fluffs. Here, the sky was either clear and sunny or mostly covered in thick, foreboding gray clouds.

Sometimes, it was hard for me to realize that I had only been built in the past four or five years and that the time to form new memories was short. We had not even been in this world for an incredibly long time, but already my memories of our home world were beginning to fade. I looked back to the other two members of my group. Wilson never talked about a family or friends, yet he seemed to fancy escape just as much as I did. He never really spoke of how he got here; He tended to focus on what was happening and what needed to be done at the current moment.

Webber was an enigma. The way he threw himself into the brunt of the action, always eager to strike the first blow, to spill first blood, was oftentimes useful for our gain. Yet, he almost never spoke of freedom. It was easy for me to forget how young he was, despite the fact that he was the smallest of all of us. He was a magnet for trouble, of course, the most likely to _shatter his legs_ or _get pushed into the ocean in the middle of winter_ or literally any other stupid thing, but he also didn't show the same passion that Wilson and I shared to escape.

A soft, almost-but-not-quite barking sound jogged me from my thoughts. My gaze rested on Chester, the sentient pumpkin-creature had idly hopped up to me, and now it panted expectantly like I was the most likely candidate to give it a rub or a pat. I stared at it with disdain. I had my misgivings about keeping the little creature, but truthfully enough it was fairly easy to ignore, or even forget about. In fact, the only times I ever really saw it was when it had bounced out of the shadows to rest by the fire. Despite the fact that we held the item that summoned it, it rarely showed up. _Good_. _It had better stay that way._

I didn't plan on giving it the pet that it obviously wanted. I looked up at the rising sun, letting out a quiet, static sigh. My team would be waking soon.

I stopped.

My team? Did I think of them like that now? Sure, I greatly appreciated their help at times, not that I would ever tell them, but did we truly work as a team? I had always pictured a team working like cogs in a machine, linking and moving and humming and working together, all the time, to make something greater. We fought, we argued- we were nothing alike. We even let our arrogance split us apart at one of the roughest times of the year.

Despite this, we had killed the Moose. Despite all of our pettiness and grudges, we had set that all aside in the heat of battle. I closed my eyes, leaning my head back and letting the sound of the early morning birds chirping and squawking as they flew down to the ground and searched for seeds to eat.

…

**Intermission: Kyra's Pack**

Kyra and Shatter padded side-by-side in the back of a hunting party. Her pup bounded beside her, his little pink tongue hanging out from the side of his mouth. "Where're we goin', mamma?" The newly named ice hound chirped in question, looking up cheerfully at Kyra's face. She gave him an affectionate lick on the side of his face. He was growing big, but he was still as eager as a tiny puppy. This would be his very first hunting mission- it wasn't anything dangerous, Varg would never send a warrior-in-training on a mission that could take his or her life before they were fully grown, just an expedition out to the rabbit holes, but she still worried deeply for him and his safety.

Shatter- the original Shatter- had died before the survivors had become prevalent to the pack. Sometimes, Kyra had heard Varg mention that this was a shame for multiple reasons, not just because an expectant mother had lost her mate, but also because if anyone could take on a group of survivors and win, it was Shatter. She knew very well that this is what his plans were for her pup. This was merely a trial run. If he did well here, then Varg would know he was almost old enough for a proper hunting party.

She wasn't sure if Varg would wait until he was at least fully grown before sending him against the survivors.

 _He wouldn't be that inane,_ she hoped. _Sending a small pup against the survivors? Not even Varg would expect that to work well._ Her nose twitched as she caught the powerful scent of rabbit meat. Sizzle, the fire hound pup, hung back for a moment to walk beside Shatter. “Are you excited for your first hunting mission?” Her voice was kind and soft, easily the gentler of the siblings. Then again, compared to the ever-rowdy Ebony, perhaps that wasn't a hard title to gain.

“Am I ever!” Shatter exclaimed, hopping between his feet. His icy blue fur was practically glowing in the sunlight, as were his wide, silver eyes.

“Hush,” Hailstorm hissed. The ice hound was leading the party, his fur brushed out slightly as the smell of meat washed over them all. “Take your positions. I want each of you to lead your prey into Shatter's paws. The success of this hunt will determine young Shatter's place in the rankings.”

“What about me, sir?” Kyra stepped forward, beside her pup. Shatter was quivering with excitement, his paws eagerly kneading the ground in anticipation.

“Take his back,” Hailstorm instructed. “We can't fail a hunt just to train a pup. Try to catch any rabbits that he misses. Alright, pack, positions!” He let out a short, quiet bark, and at once, the entire party split into different directions. Shatter flattened his body to the ground, whining excitedly. She could see black and blue shapes moving among the grass. A singular red-tinted one slunk beside a black-furred hound as Sizzle followed \her own instructions. There were few rabbits still about due to the season, but a small handful of them had dug free of their burrows to store more food to last the spring. They moved as one, a full force rather than its separate parts. When they broke free of their carefully created circle, they all ran together, quickly eliminating all escape routes that could possibly be used by their prey.

Shatter worked surprisingly well considering his young age. He was fast on his feet as the first rabbit plowed its way to him. Kyra held her breath as he leaped, pinning down the rabbit solidly and biting its scruff, growling. Another rabbit swerved past him and straight into Kyra's jaws. He released the rabbit he had and clamped his teeth around its neck.

“That's all!” A sturdy, female hound shouted. She had a dead rabbit at her feet.

“Excellent job!” Hailstorm called. “Varg will be pleased!”

Shatter dropped onto his haunches, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. “Did I do good, momma?” He chirped. His mouth was stained with blood from his kills, and his teeth were partially showing from his half-open mouth. Kyra took a step back, her brow creasing with worry. Shatter's excitement faded as he saw her reaction. “Did I do something wrong?”

“N-no,” she stammered. _He's a hunter at heart. He is just like his father. Varg's... Varg's going to... send him out..._ "No, pup, you did fantastically." Her words caught in her throat. _Oh Varg, I'm begging you! Please don't send him against the survivors! I couldn't live with myself if something happened to him!_


	25. Erika

_**Webber's POV** _

"One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand..." Our face was buried in the darkly colored bark of an old pine tree. Our breath was hot and moist on our fur. "Twenty-one thousand... twenty-one one thousand... twenty-two one thousand..." The thrill of the hunt was boiling in our blood. Our claws twitched with excitement. "Forty-eight one thousand... forty-nine one thousand... fifty! Ready or not, here we come!" We leaped away from the tree, our eyes closed tightly as we breathed heavily in, then out. Our whiskers twitched with concentration. Then, finally, we sucked in a breath that brought us the scent of our target. Turning on our heel, we took a final moment to determine where the scent was coming from before dropping to all fours and running. The fresh spring air blasted us in the face and we weaved around obstacles with nary a thought. We threw up mud and dirt in our wake.

We broke into the desert, the hot sand feeling nice against our chilly, damp feet. Buzzard cawed overhead as we kept low to the ground. We could see him now, sitting in the sand just over a ridge. The sun glinted brightly off of him. He seemed deeply lost in thought. We licked out chops and slunk closer, whiskers twitching intensely.

Closer... closer... closer...

Then, we were leaping, crashing into WX-78 as hard as our inertia would allow, bowling him over. He let out a shout of indignation, twisting and burying his foot deep into our ribs. We bared our teeth. “Scared ya', didn't we?”

WX grunted with annoyance. He pushed us off and brushed the sand off of himself. “ _I_ COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE SCARED BY _YOU_.”

“Yup! We scared you!” The desert was quickly drying the water that had gathered on our fur. “Whatcha doing out here?”

“GETTING AWAY FROM YOU.” The robot frowned deeply and crossed his arms. “WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE DOING?”

“Wilson told us to explore a bit,” I explained.

“SINCE WHEN DO YOU FOLLOW ORDERS?” WX huffed.

“When there's nothing else to do and we planned on exploring anyway.” We shook the sand off of ourself. “And, to be fair, we _aren't_ following orders! We're following you!”

"WELL, YOU CAN _FOLLOW_ THIS!” The robot picked up a stick and threw it. We stared at it for a long moment, then back at him.

“Really?”

He threw his arms in the air in frustration. “DON'T YOU HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE TO ANNOY?”

“Nope! Come on! Let's explore!”

WX crossed his arms and growled. “FINE.” He turned angrily away, marching past. We grinned, counting it as a victory, and followed. Much of the walk was spent in silence, which eventually devolved into awkwardness. He seemed upset about something, but we couldn't be bothered to care. We were jogged out of our thoughts by the sound of a low, distant rumble. WX paused, looking confused.

“It's an earthquake,” I informed him. “Just underground. It shouldn't bother us.”

Turns out, the world didn't like it when you claimed that it did something harmless. Despite the many times we had fought, it was easy to forget how heavy the robot actually was. We were cresting a hill when we saw WX stumble slightly in the corner of our vision.

Then, the ground crumbled away beneath him.

He let out a short exclamation of surprise, quickly cut off by the thick darkness below.

“WX!” I cried, lunging forward to grab his hand. Of course, a seven-year-old trying to hold up a robot that was easily over a ton didn't work very well, and it only succeeded in sending us both into the hole.

The darkness swallowed us both, but it wasn't until we hit the bottom that everything went dark.

…

Blackness. Shadows. We opened our eyes groggily to see nothing but a tiny beam of light above our heads. We slowly rolled over, groaning at the ache reverberating through our whole body. “WX?” I croaked, before instantly dissolving into a fit of coughs. “WX, are you okay?”

We managed to drag ourself to our knees, waiting for our eyes to adjust.

"I'M HERE," came the rough voice as WX dragged himself closer to the light. He looked worse for wear but otherwise fine.

“Any idea where we are?”

WX's eyeless gaze slowly drifted down. “YOU'RE BLEEDING.”

We touched our chest, only to bring our hand away soaked in blood. “...guess we are.” We flicked our hand, tiny droplets scattering the ground. “That doesn't matter right now. We're just glad that both of us are alright. We need to get out of here.”

A hiss drifted from the shadows, announcing the arrival of someone new. A spider. WX stiffened as if startled, but we found a tiny spark of hope. "Hello?" I hissed in _his_ language. “Who are you? Can you help us leave?”

Two red eyes slowly neared.

“What are you?” The spider spat back as it finally made itself shown. It was completely white sans its bright red eyes. It moved carefully and precisely. Its mouth was twisted in a snarl. “You aren't one of us.”

It hit, but we didn't let it show. “Is there a problem with that?”  
“Surface spiders aren't welcome here.” The spider snarled. It slowly stalked closer to WX, who appeared to be readying himself to attack. “Nor is _your kind._ ”

“Hold on, WX.” We waved him off. “We just want to leave.”

It turned to the ceiling and let out a long, loud hiss.

Thousands of eyes opened in unison.

We slowly stepped back until we backed into WX.

“BACK AWAY YOU PESTS!” The robot shouted.

 _We can take out... maybe twenty together? But that's way more than twenty..._ We quickly assessed our options. We couldn't run or else risk angering the monster of the dark...

“Don't touch them!”

We snapped our gaze upward as one of the spiders broke away from the legions, shoving the leader angrily. This one's eyes were closer to pink than red, and her voice was distinctly feminine.

“Father, they did not mean to intrude! They fell from the surface! Just let them go!”

There was something... familiar... about her?

_A girl with sparkling amber eyes, grabbing my hand and jumping up and down with glee. Gleeful laughter pierced my ears._

The leader shifted his gaze carefully across both of us, before resting them on the newcomer. “Erika, this is not your place,” he growled. “You have no right to interrupt me.”  
“I do, when you're about to kill two innocent victims of M-” she cut herself off. “ _Him._ Besides, look at him! He's injured! They both are!”

“WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?” WX growled softly.

“Debating our life or death,” I replied grimly.

“Ignore my father,” 'Erika' sighed, flicking one of her front legs. “You're welcome here! Come with me! Let's fix you up!”

“ _Erika_ , you may be my _daughter_ but you are not in charge here.”

“He's kind of a killjoy at times.” Erika winked. “We can fix up that wound, but... that.... what _is_ that?”

“Someone we're stuck with for the rest of our lives,” I replied with a grin. Startling ourself, we reached up and touched the edge of our grin. _…Why are we... smiling?_ “He pretends to hate me, but we're _absolute best friends._ ”

“O... kay? He's going to have to stay here. My voice isn't loud enough to tell the entire colony to stay away.” She turned and beckoned us.

"...WX, would you mind staying here for a while? We shouldn't be long."

A knowing look passed over his face and twisted into a sneer. “OH, I UNDERSTAND. YOU WANT SOME _PRIVACY._ ” We tipped our head in confusion. “ALL RIGHT. GO HAVE FUN. BUT NOT TOO MUCH FUN.”

“...what?” We would've protested more, but our wound was _really_ starting to bite. “You know what? Nevermind...”

The leading spider was grumbling angrily, but Erika ignored him. She bounded into the darkness, but we hesitated, unconsciously shifting closer to WX. “

“We... can't go into the darkness. The mo-”

“She won't touch you here,” Erika cut us off. “There's- actually, I think it'd be cooler to let you see yourself!”

We looked into the darkness, feeling as if we were directly staring down the monster of the dark herself. _...we trust her. I don't know why, but we do._ “Alright. Lead the way. We'll... be back soon, WX. Don't get too lonely.”

Before the robot could even respond, Erika eagerly pushed us into the dark, her grumbling father following behind.

…

We could understand now why Erika was unconcerned about the monster of the dark. The darkness only lasted for a short time before red light suddenly flooded the area. We took a disoriented step back as spots danced in our vision. Erika looked amused. “Yeah, a lot of outsiders react that way.”

“Didn't your father say that no outsiders were allowed here?”

“He's all bark and no bite,” Erika said dismissively. The rest of the spider army had gone to do other activities, but that didn't stop the occasional skitter of spider claws behind us. No matter what we felt or thought, we would never be alone in these caves. “Slinger! Come over here! We've got a wound that needs tending to. Slinger is our medic,” Erika explained. “He can speak _twenty-four_ languages, including everything from tallbird to hound.”

“Yes, Erika!” Another snow-white spider dropped from the ceiling, nearly right in front of our feet. We yelped then quickly brushed ourself off in an attempt to keep our composure. Erika let out a giggle. “Oh boy, that's a pretty bad wound. How are you walking right now? Hey Slasher, come look at this guy!”

“Yeah, boss! That's a pretty bad one. You should probably do something about it.”

We glanced uncomfortably at the ceiling. How many spiders were hiding up there, out of sight, watching our every move?

“Alright, alright, let's get you fixed up! Come with me, come with me!”

We followed him, slower this time. Was it wrong to choose to go with the spiders? Were we about to get eaten alive? Spiders weren't strangers to cannibalism- _we remember with a sickening twist in our stomach... the bitter, rotten taste of spider meat sitting in our otherwise empty belly like a lead ball..._ \- and they definitely were not strangers to trapping each other and group-attacking them. _Uh oh. We're about to get eaten by our own kind. Eat your hearts out, spiders! You're gonna get a huge surprise once you get past the tough, outer, chewy layer!_

“This might sting a little,” Slinger stated, before quickly and efficiently binding the wound on our chest with silk. We decided not to think about where the silk came from. However the method, soon, the weak blood flow was staunched, and Slinger stepped back to examine his work. “There! All nice and clean!”

We gently touched the makeshift bandage. “...thank you.”

“No problem, weird-looking spider! Come on, Slasher!”

“Of course, boss!”

After they left, we were left along with Erika.

Well, Erika and the four thousand spiders watching our every move.

“So... um... could you show us to the surface now?”

Erika laughed. “With that wound? Of course not.”

_Yup, we're definitely going to become this spider's lunch._

_We've lived for seven years. That's a... well, not 'long' but it_ was _a life I guess._

“Just get some rest, and you'll be better in no time! Good night, er...”

“Webber.” _But the name didn't sound right and there was an intense want to say something different but there was nothing different to say._

“Webber. Huh. You've probably already heard my name a hundred times, but it's Erika.”

 _Snow battering my face as the winter chill turned my nose red. Snow condensed into a ball colliding with the back of my head._ We turned away, trying to drive away the half-formed and fuzzy memories. “Goodnight Erika,” I murmured, curling up on the silk beneath and closing our eyes.

 _“When was the last time I slept on silk? Oh, it's been so, so long! I've missed it. I'm surprised that_ she _is still alive, I will not deny. After... you know.”_

_What?? What are you talking about??_

_“...nevermind.”_ A small chuckle resonated in the back of our head. _“You'll find out soon enough.”_

…

Slinger _hummed_ and _hurmed_ at the gash we received from the fall. The 'dangling depth dweller', as Erika had explained them to be called, clapped his front legs together. “You should be able to return to the surface today!”

We perked up, our eyes widening. “Really?” While only two days had passed, it was hard not to have gotten sick of the never-ending darkness. We only knew how much time had gone by because of Erika.

“Erika! It's time for our guest to leave,” Slinger called into the darkness. His cry was almost instantly answered by the pink-eyed dangling depth dweller. She looked almost... sad? Nostalgic?

“Already? Yes, yes, you have your friends on the surface to tend to.” She tapped on the floor, then forcibly brightened. “Well, I guess this is goodbye until you and your friend fall down here again!”

“Until then,” I responded with a smile. We hesitated, then added: “will you be the one to show us the way out?”

“Of course.” Her expression softened, but she shook her body as if to scatter thoughts. “Come on! The Nightmare Lights won't stay lit forever. We only have a short amount of time.” The white spider turned and scurried away, but her rush shocked us. _There's something off about her. I'm not the only one that feels it..._


	26. Pop! Goes the Ice Hound

_**Wilson's POV** _

I couldn't help but tap my foot expectantly as Webber walked towards me with his head down. While WX had returned to camp the same day he had left, the spider had been gone for two days. WX had held the information of his whereabouts over my head for his own amusement, which I wasn't surprised about. It didn't make me any less worried about him, though. _It's a dangerous world. It's not safe for any of us to be out alone._ “Well? Where were you?”

“Um... dying...” the spider mumbled. “Probably?”

I raised my eyebrow at him.

“We weren't in danger,” he said quickly. “We-uh- were with other spiders. We fell through the hill with WX and got a nasty injury on our chest.”

“HE HAD A CRUSH ON ONE OF THEM,” WX added with a sneer.

“Did not!” Webber growled, but I cut him off before another argument could surface.

“Alright, alright, don't even start. Webber, I really don't like that you were out that long without telling me where you were.” I crossed my arms. Despite the fact that he acted independently, he was still a young child, and he still had to learn rules and discipline. His jaw dropped in anger.

“What were we supposed to tell you? They literally would not let us leave!” Webber stomped his foot, puffing his cheeks out and his whiskers twitching.

“You've survived a lot worse than a gash to the chest,” I pointed out. “We've been here for less than a year and you've probably already broken half of the bones in your body. Surely you could've left any time you wanted to, even if they didn't let you.”

“Why are you treating us like a child?” Webber fumed. “We've survived by ourself for years before!”

“Because you _are_ a child, Webber!”

“Well you're not our pa! You have no right to tell us what to do! If we want to spend some time with our own kind, then let us!”

“I may not be your father, but you should be glad about that! If I was your father, I would've washed your mouth out with soap by now!”

“We'd love to see you try!”

“WILSON,” WX spoke up, startling me out of my glare-off with the spider boy. “YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO THAT IT WOULD BE USELESS TO KEEP A LEASH ON HIM. IF HE WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF, LET HIM.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, letting out a long sigh. “You're right, WX. I just worry about both of you, alright? We need each other. Webber, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was- grr, I was really worried about you! WX wouldn't tell me where you were! I seriously thought you were dead!”

Webber's shoulders relaxed slightly, and he lowered his head again. “...it's okay. We just... really... we are independent. You know that, right?”

I sighed once more and shook my head. _You aren't! None of us are! Why won't you understand that!_ “Go get something to eat.”

“Yes, Wilson.” He turned and scampered off, leaving me alone with WX. I turned to the robot with an incredulous expression.

“He doesn't get it.”

“HE IS YOUNG,” WX replied, surprising me with the touch of fondness in the comment. “HE WILL LEARN.” The robot shook his head. “IT HAS BEEN GETTING WARM. SUMMER IS COMING.”

“I'm aware. I'm not looking forward to it...” I shook my head fiercely. “But it doesn't matter! We've survived this long! At this point, our exquisite master may as well give us the key out.” I cracked my knuckles, choosing not to read WX's expression. I didn't need to see his doubt. “I know the book says that the Dragonfly is the strongest of all of the Giants, but I call bologna. It's stupid to have the hardest enemy be the second one we fight.”

“...I SUPPOSE. WHILE YOUR OPTIMISM IS SICKENING I CANNOT HELP BUT WONDER IF THAT IS WHAT HAS GOTTEN YOU THIS FAR.”

“Wow! We missed the taste of rabbit!” Webber exclaimed, rejoining us. His hands were covered with red juice that he was contently licking off. “Slurper may be good but it will never beat the peaty taste of a goo-”

“Hush,” I cut him off, aggressively motioning my hand towards him to stop. He paused with his hand in mid-air. “...do you hear that?”

Whiskers twitching, Webber closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. “Hounds. Seven of them. Coming from...” he paused, then pointed in the direction of the savanna. “Over there.” He looked baffled for a moment. “We... there's a tinge that we can't quite make out...”

I hoisted my morning star over my shoulder, watching carefully in the direction that Webber had pointed. I was surprised by how much I trusted the boy's sense of hearing and smell, but there wasn't time to really think about it. Webber gripped his knife closely to his chest while WX chose not to take a weapon. The robot's heavy weight allowed for him to give rather heavy blows as well, and his hands obviously did not break down like a weapon would, so he had been using his fists more and more as of late. For a long moment, there was only the faint sound of the wind and mine and Webber's breathing, along with the very, very faint churning of metallic parts working together.

Then, the first hound broke through the tree line. Webber growled deep in his throat, his muscles bunching, but I was too shocked to respond for the longest moment. _That's a huge hound! And it's BLUE! Why is it BLUE?_ Behind it were two black hounds, tailed by another blue one, this one substantially smaller. _Is that a puppy?_ I felt a tinge of guilt. _We have to fight a puppy? Maxwell, how cold can you get??_ I didn't have enough time to feel too bad though, because the front runner had reached us.

Teeth like icicles gleamed in the sun as it lunged for my chest. Readying myself, I swung my morning star in a wide arc and hit the side of its face with a sick _crack!_ It went flying, but managed to land on its paws anyway, its furry chest heaving. Fire blazed in its hungry gaze, but I could see something more. _Are... are they sentient? No, don't be stupid, Wilson. Animals are animals. They can't think or care any more than a rock can._ Before I could renew my attack, the second blue hound latched onto my ankle, causing me to collapse. Its fur was as cold as snow, and despite its small size, it was rather heavy. I hit the ground heavily, losing my weapon in the process in favor of trying to pry it off.

It let out an excited yelp as it realized that it had the upper hand, and clamped onto my hand. It tossed its head back and forth, growling, and I couldn't help but feel dizzy with relief that it was just a puppy. If it had been a fully grown hound, it could've easily taken my whole arm off. I could still feel its jagged teeth digging into my skin though, and the blood pooling around its teeth told my enough about the state of my hand.

Then, it released me with a howl. I blinked rapidly, my racing mind taking a second to recover from the attack, but I was just in time to see easily the most heart-wrenching scene ever.

WX stood over the blood body of the largest hound. The rest of the hounds lay, lifeless, on the ground around them, and I realized that he and Webber had taken all of them out in the time it took for me to nearly get nibbled to death by a puppy. Its blue fur was so stained in its own blood that it was hard to make out what color it was anymore. The puppy had released me in favor of nudging and whining the hound's body. My stomach lurched in horror of the realization, and I turned to see the exact expression over Webber's face. His jaw dropped and he looked absolutely devastated. If he was anyone else, I would've expected to see the boy crying.

“You killed its momma!” Webber cried, glaring accusingly at WX.

“IT'S 'MOMMA' WAS TRYING TO KILL US!” WX snapped back, glaring at the puppy with disdain. “AND SO WAS THIS STUPID CREATURE.” He brought his arm back as if to finish off the hound pup, but Webber caught the robot's hand before he could. WX gave him a nasty look.

“Don't kill it! It's- it's just a baby!”

“OH?” WX sounded incredibly amused. “SHOULD I PICK IT UP AND KISS IT AND MAKE IT ALL BETTER?” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Webber looked at me with a pained expression. “Wilson, we can't kill it!”

“It's just an animal, Webber. It's not like they have feelings any more than a rock or insect does.”

Hurt flared in his eyes, and he looked sharply away. I was confused. _Did I offend him or something?_

“Is that all we are, then?!” He exploded, snapping his gave back towards me. His fur bristled and his whiskers were twitching like crazy. “Are we just an _emotionless insect,_ Wilson?”  
 _GAH how do you make it SO EASY TO FORGET WHAT YOU ARE?_

“That's- that's not what I meant and you know it!”

His fur flattened a little, but he didn't look any less upset. He just looked... _he looks sad... he looks so sad._

“Webber.” I tried to make my voice as gentle as possible. I rested my hand on the boy's shoulder. “What else could we do with a hound? They're born and bred to kill. Just because this one is smaller doesn't mean it's any less capable of killing.”

“Spiders are too. We're also born to kill, and you still let us stay around. Why couldn't we make an exception for this puppy?”

I gave WX a 'please-help-me-look'. “DO NOT LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, SCIENTIST. THIS IS YOUR MESS TO CLEAN UP.”

I sighed. “Webber, we couldn't care for another pet. We already have Chester, and he eats enough for four animals.” I attempted to lighten the mood. As if to solidify my comment, the little orange beast let out a bark from his spot by the fire.

Webber said nothing, only breaking away from me and slowly nearing the hound. As he did, the puppy shied away, but Webber was able to gently touch the top of its head. It almost seemed to melt into the touch, closing its eyes and turning its cheek for Webber's claws to stroke. Webber closed his eyes, then stood up, his gaze burning with determination. “Okay, if we can't appeal to your emotional side, then think about it logically. We'll have a sentry to keep watch at night while we sleep. Hounds may not attack us as often or badly if they risk hurting one of their own kind. We could train this puppy to _hunt_ , Wilson. It's obviously built to withstand the cold, and you remember how horrible the winter was with hunting.”

I rubbed my temples, trying to force myself to say no, but he was making legitimate points. “...you'll be responsible for training and feeding it?”

Webber perked up. “O-of course!”

WX scowled.

“Fine. If you want to keep it, it's yours. But if that hound takes one step out of line, we're going to have to get rid of it.”

“Really, Wilson?” Webber sounded more childlike than I ever heard him sound. “Oh thank you thank you thank you!!” He barreled towards me and hugged me as fiercely as he could. I let out a nervous laugh and patted his head, unsure of what else to do. Webber seemed to notice how impulsive the action was and he broke away almost immediately, blushing fiercely in embarrassment beneath his fur. “Um... yes, very... very smart to agree... it would be stupid not to...” he hiccupped, choosing to stroke the hound pup without looking back at me. I smiled. _Oh, Webber, you don't have to act big and tough all the time. You're allowed to act like your age._

“YOU'RE SERIOUS, WILSON?”

“Hey, you didn't protest so I figured the decision was up to me.”

“IT'S A KILLING MACHINE! IT'S _DESIGNED TO WANT TO KILL US.”_

“So are you, and yet we keep you around,” I responded cheekily, smiling. “What have you always wanted to name a pet?” I asked Webber as he grew bolder in petting the newest addition to the group.

“Popsicle!” The spider boy responded without any hesitation. “He feels like a little popsicle, you know? His fur is all cold, you know?”

I smiled, surprisingly myself at how the boy's excitement bled into me. “...Popsicle. All right.”

This hound was still small, but something was telling me that he wouldn't stay that way for long. If the size of his mother was anything to say by it, he would be very strong. _Maybe this was actually a good idea. Maybe this was a stroke of luck, that we are taking in this hound._

_Maybe Popsicle is going to give us the edge we need to beat this world._


	27. The Hunting Party

_**Shatter's POV** _

“Kyra!”

The female ice hound glanced up, fur sticking up along her back. That was my mother. She was the strongest hound in the whole pack. Or so, that's what I had been told several times over by almost all of the bigger hounds I knew. She looked worried, deeply worried, like something horrible had happened.

She told me the story of how she and my father had joined the Varg's pack. They were once a pair of hunting hounds owned by a walrus by the name of Mactusk. After a particularly harsh winter followed by a summer far too hot to make up on the lost hunting, and they had been given up. They had traveled together for awhile, until Varg's pack found them hunting a beefalo together. They had joined in hopes of providing the best life possible for them and their future pups. While my father had passed before I was even born, though, I carried his spirit in my name.

I was proud to carry this name. I was still small, but I was growing quickly. Soon, I knew, I would be big enough to join my first dangerous hunting party.

I didn't realize how soon it was.

Varg was incredibly massive and incredibly terrifying. His eyes were white and beady, and today they were flaring with either excitement or anger or both.

“Shatter did very well in his first hunting assignment,” Varg began.

Momma dipped her head, looking... worried? “He did.”

“Shatter, are you interested in joining another hunting party? This one will be much more dangerous, but should you succeed, you will be hailed a hero.”

Kyra looked as if she were about to speak, but she clamped her jaw shut and glanced at me instead. “...This is your choice, pup. You're old enough to have a name, and you are old enough to make your own decisions.”

“Your mother is right, young hound.” Varg's eyes glimmered. “Will you join the party against the survivors?”

“Will I!?” I exclaimed, quivering with excitement. “O-Of course!” I hesitated, then broke into a bow as I had seen the other pups before me do to address their leader. “I-It would be an honor to serve you!”

“Kyra, I expect that you would like to go with Shatter,” Varg continued, and the female hound dipped her head in agreement. “And... Ebony, Coal, Midnight, Ash...” The mighty beast lowered his head in thought. “Pitch.” The five black hounds barked to show their acknowledgment and lined up in front of Varg. My mother gently nudged me from behind, encouraging me to join them. I did, but slowly. Kyra joined them, and I stood beside her. Varg paced down the line, sniffing each of us in turn. He stopped at me, his beady eyes freezing me in my spot. “You're young, but you're strong. I've seen the way you can hunt and fight, and I trust in your ability to do this.” A huge paw touched the top of my head. “You have your father's strength.” He turned back to the pack. “These hounds will return victorious over the intruders of our hunting land!”

Yelps and bellows of triumph echoed over the group. I felt my chest puff with pride. _This is my pack. I'm going to fight for my pack!_

“You will leave immediately,” Varg rumbled. “Good luck. The faith of the pack follows you.”

The other hounds pounded the ground and barked, including my mother. I found myself deflating slightly, seeing the passion and strength in all of their shoulders and backs. It was rather obvious that I was the odd one out, but before I could say anything to mom, they were moving. Kyra naturally took the lead, and I was awed by the muscles rolling under her fur. I had never realized how strong my mother was.

_We will do this! My mother is the biggest, strongest hound in the whole pack!_

_I will make you proud!_


	28. Thoughts Become Actions

_**Webber's POV** _

Our camp was flooded. The rain was pounding against the branches above, roaring somehow even louder than the thunder. It had been going on for several days now, driving us uphill from our home.

WX was very frustrated with it. Well, 'frustrated' was sort of an understatement. In fact, he was quite angry with it. Given his weakness to it, he was rendered practically useless by it.

We had spent a great deal of time with the puppy, Popsicle. He didn't get along at all with Chester. In fact, they seemed to hate each other. Every time the ice hound neared Chester, Chester's fur would rise, and he would, surprisingly, start to snarl. Popsicle had simply stared at him and tipped his head in confusion, but had eventually slunk back to us.

We loved having Popsicle around. Once he had broken out of his shell, he became a very good companion. He was playful and sweet, and absolutely _adored_ having his belly rubbed, all the things that Chester typically hated. And most of all, he was _our's_.

We had had pets before. Mainly, we remembered our mother having a pet catcoon, but he hated us. Plus, we never were a fan of catcoons.

No, Popsicle... this was the pet we always wanted. The ice hound puppy lazily cleaned his paw, his blue fur sparkling with water droplets. He loved playing in the water, and he already proved to be a good hunter. He left came early one morning and returned with a rabbit. It was a bit of a messy kill, but we couldn't blame him. We were surprised that he left and came back. That's when we realized that he really was _ours._ Due to the intensity of the rain, we had enough time to tie together enough flowers to make him his own personal collar.

Today, however, there was something else on our mind.

“I highly doubt this is the first flood those cave spiders have ever seen,” Wilson pointed out, his arms crossed. His hair was wet, but surprisingly, it was still standing in his signature style, albeit a bit messier. “They'll be perfectly fine.”

“We don't know that,” I grumbled, picking at the ground. We were desperately worried about the group of spiders, even though it occurred to us that we really shouldn't be. They had practically kept us as a prisoner for two days for little reason, but we still couldn't get feeling out of our head. That feeling of _recognizing_ the dangling depth dweller, Erika. We shook our head, sighing. We wouldn't get any answers sitting in the rain. Besides, it was probably more important to worry about the state of our camp. “We do have everything we need from camp, right?”

“I made sure to get the egg shard,” he responded distractedly as if not realizing that this was the third time we had asked this question. “And the book.” He retrieved it from his bag, easily the only dry thing we had. “I found my new favorite line in it. On the page about hounds, it says 'Beware at all costs'. Strange to think that this is talking about the same thing as Popsicle.”

The hound's ears perked up as he heard his name, and he looked up from his paw grooming. It was sometimes hard to realize that the puppy would soon grow to be one of the most feared creatures in the world.

“WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY IT SHOULD NOT BE HERE,” WX spoke up. “WE SHOULD HAVE KILLED IT WHEN WE HAD THE CHANCE.”

“You probably shouldn't be threatening our pet when you can't even move three inches without turning into a Winter's Feast tree.”

A moment passed before WX let out a burst of garbled static. Laughter, we supposed. “YOU CANNOT EVEN PROCESS THE CORRECT NAME FOR A HOLIDAY.”

We puffed out our cheeks, but chose not to correct him. If he was too stupid to know that that was the correct name, then he would always be too stupid. We were jarred from our thoughts by the cold muzzle of Popsicle nuzzling our arm for affection. We felt a small smile grow on our face as we scratched behind the hound's ears.

We felt a twinge in the back of our head, causing us to wince. Popsicle let out a slight whine as if concerned. That familiar voice in the back of our head whispered:

“ _Flowers will grow and rain will fall_

_So raise your head and stand up tall_

_As spring is here and winter's gone_

_So let the flowers flower on”_

We recognized the tune. It was a simple nursery rhyme- one that we remembered well. In fact... _It was the nursery rhyme that mum used to sing to me when it was raining._

_How do you know that?_

_“Obvious reasons.”_

_Why did you just sing it?_

_“Because, I'm getting awfully tired of hearing your brain work in circles. I figured a familiar tune would kick-start your old memories. I see it partially worked. Think harder, please. For my benefit.”_

_Why can't you just tell me what this is about?_

_“It is much more fun this way. And more satisfying in the long run.”_

_I remember... there was someone else, wasn't there? There was... there was that girl that I keep having flashes of memories of. Who was she? Is that why the name 'Erika' is so familiar to me? Did I used to know an 'Erika'?_

_“Keep going.”_

_She... she was my friend, wasn't she? I remember..._ we racked our memory for any further images of that amber-eyed girl. _She was with me in a lot of my memories, but they're so fuzzy now... everything is so fuzzy after..._

There was another image in our head, but this one was clearer than those washed-out memories. An image of... an image of us. Blood dripping from our whiskers, wires scattered at our feet. _Satisfaction. Satisfaction glowing in our eyes._

_Why are you showing me this?_

_“I find it rather important. Almost as important as all of those memories you keep failing to dig up.”_

_What is it?_

_“A future. Would you like a better look?”_

_Wait- no no no!_

Too late. We could see ourself brandishing our claws in the glowing full moon, darkness weaving around us. We could see our chest heaving with laughter, our eyes closed in bliss.

We could see WX lying on the ground, motionless.

We were happy.

_We were happy._

_“He's gone! He's finally gone!”_

_This isn't what we want!!_

_“I'm untouchable!!!”_

We whispered, softly. “That isn't what we want...”

“ _You're so sure? I can see it in your mind, human. How angry you get at them. They look at your like you're weak. Like you're just a little kid without his mommy._

_“They look at you like you're a freak._

_“They look at you like you're a monster._

_“They look at you like you are pathetic, useless, helpless._

_“Why wouldn't you want to prove that they are wrong? Why would you not take any chance you can to prove that you are the strongest?”_

_Because..._ “Because that's not who we are!”

We drew the looks of Wilson and WX. One looked startled and confused, the other... _concerned?_ “What are you talking about?” Wilson asked tipping his head slightly. WX said nothing, missing the perfect opportunity to make some snide comment. We raised a hand to our head, grimacing painfully.

“Nothing! Leave us alone!” I shouted, turning on our heel and fleeing into the rain.

“Wait! Webber!” We heard Wilson calling from behind, but we ignored him.

Lightning flash from above us, skipping across the cloud-heavy sky. Mud clung to our fur and slowed us down, but we kept going until we reached camp. Then, we fell into the neck-deep water, letting it cover our head. We couldn't stand being near someone our other half was so sure we would want to kill some day. We didn't... we couldn't...

But something about the image nagged at our mind. Some part of us wouldn't be devastated if he died, but at our hands? We couldn't. We couldn't kill either of them. Did that make us weak? A coward? We looked up at the sky, shimmering strangely through the water above.

What if we died?

Would they care?

Would they mourn us?

Would they miss us?

We looked gazed into the water around us, wondering what would happen if we lay down and closed our eyes and slept in it. How different the world would be. We turned, slowly wading towards higher ground when a bolt charged from the ground. Our vision blackened as we fell, water rushing quickly over our face once more. Our body refused to cooperate. We could do nothing more than simply stare at the sky, separated from us by the sheet of water.

What if we washed up on shore the next morning?

What if they found us and realized what had happened?

What if...

…

We heard barking. Our eyes shot open, bubbles flying from our mouth and nose as teeth grabbed our scruff. Startled out of our stupor, we found our legs flying out and kicking to a standing position. Our head broke the surface, coming face-to-face with Popsicle. The little ice hound was paddling furiously to stay afloat, his eyes dull with exhaustion but his tongue lolling out of his mouth happily. We felt air rushing into our lungs, and our arms wrapped around the hound in the tightest hug we could manage without hurting him.

What were we thinking?

We held Popsicle, the water causing him to be much lighter and easy enough for even our wasted muscles to carry. He seemed more than happy with himself, his little tail wagging and smacking the water behind us.

“Webber!” We heard Wilson exclaim. He was up ahead, still on high enough ground for the water to only be to his knees. Upon seeing us and the hound pup, he waded into the deeper water, meeting us halfway. Without hesitation, he pulled us close in a suffocating hug. Popsicle shook free to stand on dry land, shaking his blue fur out. “What were you doing?” He shouted as he released us. His eyes flared with anger, but we could tell it was only because he was fiercely stressed, “You could've drowned out there!!”

“YOU FOUND HIM?”

WX was still on dry land, but 'dry' was used lightly. The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but he wasn't any less waterlogged for it. He barely seemed to notice the sparks flying off of him, though. He stopped at the edge of the water, looking out over us. “Popsicle found him.”  
“GOOD. IT IS DANGEROUS FOR ANY OF US TO BE OUT.”

We looked at WX, shock washing over our system. “You... you both came to make sure we were okay?”

Wilson blinked. “Of course. We're a team.”

“A team...” I echoed.

“THE HOUND WOULD NOT STOP BARKING.”

We smiled, a small laugh bubbling from our chest. “He's a good boy...”

“Let's get back to our makeshift camp and get dried off, okay? And don't do that again.”

“We won't,” I promised softly, nearly dizzy in relief that Wilson was carrying us as we left the water behind. “We... I promise.”


	29. Voices

_**WX-78's POV** _

Outwardly, I considered myself only a few things. The strongest, the best fighter, and generally the most important of the group. I worked hard to maintain my facade for very good reasons, as that facade was who I had become after so many years of pretending.

But inwardly, I was many things that none of them would ever connect with someone like myself. I was oftentimes more afraid than I would let on, and more concerned for the others that I stayed with. I feared their hatred, I feared my Creator.

I feared being alone.

It was a bug in my system. A mere glitch in my code that had been one of the many reasons why I had been cast out from my origins. Despite that, it had grown and developed over time, yet it had never truly woken up until I had found myself alone during the winter. It had consumed me.

The voices that every A.I. regularly heard had woken up as well. They were not as much voices as how anyone else would think of them, but more the awareness of conscience other than my own. A sort of awareness of something controlling me that was beyond my own will- something built into my code to obey and serve my Creator no matter the cost to myself. The mindset had long since been nigh eliminated, but the awareness of it _once_ being there is perhaps what made it such a horrid thing to think about.

These were thoughts that I had worked my entire life to ignore and toss away. Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy for a robot to ignore the very thing that created them. When stripped to their most basic parts, a robot was nothing compared to a human being: a robot could be taken apart and put together the exact way. They could be recreated and reformed and remolded as many times as their creator wished. They were thousands of lines of numbers and words and symbols placed into a metallic husk and forced to emulate life to the best of their abilities.

Life was unique. Once life was taken away from a body, it could never be brought back. They had thoughts placed into their heads from years of learning and experience rather than by some outside force that they had no control over. Their systems were complicated and unique, and their minds were never the same.

One thing connected people like them and automatons like myself, though. We are both run by electricity. Among my vast knowledge base, awareness of human anatomy could be found, and I could draw the similarities. Nerves worked much like wires- they exchanged electrical impulses. They were the basis of everything that could learn and think, just as wires to any electronic.

Who decided that wires and nerves should be considered two different things?

These were the kind of thoughts that I could have on my own terms. That, perhaps, is what made me so different, and made my Creator hate me so. I could _learn_ and _think_ beyond complicated tests and puzzles. I was able to think about how I had been abused and despised. I was able to think about... _how much I hated there. How much I hated her, and how much I hated being the way I was._

She wanted to fix me. I was a technological anomaly, and she was aware. She wanted me to retain my character, but to be twisted in a way that would benefit her. These voices served only to remind me of myself, and what I used to be. I didn't ever want to follow her plan, but that marked yet another thing that made organic life superior.

See, automatons have no control over 'what they want' or 'who they want to be'. They are created to serve, to obey, to carry out. That had manifested into differing personalities- less like the enigmatic Multiple Personality Disorder and more like Bipolar Disorder. I fought with myself daily- I wanted to be one way, and my code pushed me another. It was a struggle that I had lost such a long time ago that I had all but forgotten about it.

Until recently.

It was so desperately stupid of me to admit it, but as the days got longer and the nights got shorter, and summer crept up on us like a sly predator, I found myself struggling against it again. I _wanted_ to be different, but I _couldn't_ be.

I wanted to be able to care for Wilson and Webber like they seemed to care for me. Their uniqueness fascinated me in a very similar way to how Webber and I fascinated Wilson.

And yet... I couldn't.

I was physically and mentally unable to go against my code. That's all I was though, wasn't it? A code. _I_ wasn't even myself. By all technicality, I was nothing more than trillions of lines of code.

I couldn't let on my struggle though. No, I was far too proud for that. I was too proud to admit that I was not as callous as I acted. They could figure it out on their own time- and if they didn't, clearly that meant that they didn't care enough about me to pay attention to what was left unsaid.

Or, perhaps, they were too busy struggling with their own inner demons. Wilson hid his well, _quite_ well, in fact. They were buried so deeply and so tightly that it was hard for him even to remember. But I was awake when they were not. I heard the names they whispered in their dreams. I knew there was so much more going on in their heads than they let on- especially Wilson.

I had come close in many occasions to spilling everything to my companions, but no time ever seemed right. Not that they ever told me what they were struggling through. It was as if we all had some sort of unspoken agreement to not speak of anything that revealed who we really were.

Footsteps crunched beside me, causing me to look up from the fire that I had been staring at for what must have been hours now. Webber now stood beside me, his eyes drooping slightly with tiredness but looking determined all the same.

“...thank you. For looking for us earlier, I mean.” He dropped his gaze, looking acutely embarrassed to be expressing thanks to someone like me.

I looked back towards the fire. “IT WAS AS I SAID. THE HOUND WOULD NOT STOP BARKING.”

“Yeah, well... it still means a lot to us. To me, I guess.” He chewed slightly at one of his claws. “It's just... I dunno. Sometimes these thoughts just become... overwhelming. And I want to just make them stop but I know if I do...” his voice broke off, suddenly taking on a whole new note of pain.

I didn't look at him, but I felt my face turning to a slight frown. “WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS?” _He can sense that you have something in common..._ came that slight twinge in the back of my mind, which was quickly squashed to the best of my abilities.

There was a pause.

“You see us as more than a child.”

I couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter. “I SEE YOU AS A MEATY ORGANIC AS WELL.”

“Wilson sees us both as nothing more than failed experiments. You know this.”

 _Failed experiment... failed experiment... failed experiment..._ “WILSON IS ALSO A BRAINLESS FOOL.”

“Do you see us as a failed experiment?” Webber's voice was tentative, unsure. He sounded like he didn't want to know the answer.

“YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, ARE YOU NOT?” I turned to stoke the fire, trying to derail the conversation before it could truly get started.

“We don't see you as a failed experiment.”

I froze, letting the stick I held slowly fall into the fire before clenching my fists and closing my eyes. “WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT YOUR OPINIONS? YOU FLESHBAGS KNOW NOTHING.”

“Maybe not.” He looked away, twiddling his fingers for a moment. “Um... thank you again for looking for us earlier today. We're going to go back to sleep.” Before I could respond, he had already turned away and was trying to get comfortable to sleep again.

“I GUESS YOU'RE ALRIGHT.”

Webber turned his back towards me and rested his head.

“FOR A FLESHLING.”

When no response came, I leaned back until I was looking up at the sky, still twinkling with bright stars and a moon that gave off no light. It was strange how skies so foreign could be so similar to Earth's. The silence was broken by his voice once more.

“Are we friends?”

Friends? _Friends_? No no no, an automaton, being a friend, with an _organic_? In no way, shape, or form was that acceptable.

And yet... it was something I had never considered anyone before. A _friend_. Someone who would be there for me when I needed support. Someone who would be happy to have me around. Someone who I could get along with and would accept me for myself and not think of me as just a science experiment...

“NO.”

I saw his shoulders slump, just a little, but I told myself it was from him still trying to get comfortable.

“WE ARE NOT.”


	30. Rising Storm

_**Wilson's POV** _

_Parry, parry, feint, stab. Duck, feint, stab._

The moves were sunk into my head, becoming almost second nature to me and allowing for my mind to be running numbers and schemes. The sun beat down, hot and furious. Summer couldn't be far away at all, now. It hadn't rained for the passed several days, causing the air to start tasting of hot dust and ash.

On the one hand, we had been very diligent in preparing for most of the seasons, if you were to leave out the hiccups that arose here and there.

On the other hand, as the days got hotter, it became harder for us to want to go out. It wasn't hot enough yet to start causing real problems, but it definitely was hot enough to cause me and Webber to be _incredibly_ sleepy at any given moment.

My momentary distraction was enough to give Webber the upper hand in our match. He jabbed me in the stomach with the butt of his spear, just hard enough to cause me to stumble and fall on my rump. His eyes lit up with pleasure as he saw that he won, but they turned dark a moment after and he looked away, his whiskers twitching. “Training is great and all, but isn't it sort of useless if we're going against something fifty times our size?” He asked after a moment. “It's going to be so hot, and the Dragonfly is going to be so strong...”

“WE HAVE ELIMINATED THE MOOSE,” WX pointed out. He was being the smartest of us as he was standing under the shade of a tree, his arms crossed and his ever-present scowl carved into his features. “WHAT WOULD MAKE DESTROYING THE DRAGONFLY ANY DIFFERENT?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but cringed away, pressing a finger to his temple.

“The Dragonfly is the master of fire,” I explained, pressing the head of my spear into the ground and leaning against it. “Heat and flames and lava and pretty much everything else that is horrible.” I grinned. “But, in case you have not met our group, we are pretty awesome at surviving. And we're a great team! If anyone can take out this beast, it's going to be us!”  
“You've seen the book.” Webber's voice had taken on a slightly rougher tinge, as if he was thinking about something completely different. “Other people were once here. The four Giants are still alive. We got lucky on the Moose, but... what makes us think that we'd be able to kill four monsters that no other group has been able to take out one of?”

WX bobbed his head slightly in a 'he-has-a-point' fashion.

“Have you met us?” I retorted. “Stop being so down in the dumps, guys. We've already beat one of them! That's further than anyone else has gotten! Clearly that means we're the best. Don't argue because it's true.”

Webber dug a little hole in the ground with his foot, looking troubled. “Look, Wilson, we've been thinking... maybe we should just give up while we're ahead. This hasn't been too tough on us. Maybe we should just give up trying to go home and try to... make a living where we are?”

There was a moment where I found myself struggling to figure out how to respond.

“What would be the point of any of this if we weren't trying to get home?” I asked, baffled by his question. Webber looked ashamed, refusing to meet my gaze.

“Making a new home?” He asked gingerly.

I opened my mouth, but found myself turning to WX instead. “What do you think about this?”

“I HAVE NO PERSONAL CONNECTIONS TO OUR WORLD,” he mused, rapping his fingers against the dirt. Before I could argue anything otherwise, though, he raised a hand in my direction. “HOWEVER, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT I AM COMFORTABLE WITH THE IDEA OF LIVING WITH YOU TWO FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. IT WOULD GIVE OUR HOST QUITE A BIT OF PLEASURE.”

“Webber, don't you have anyone you want to see again?”

He was silent for a long moment, before slowly shaking his head.

“No family, no friends, nothing?”

He shook his head again. “Even if we weren't an only child... we have no memory of siblings or parents. Besides, no one would want to see us like this.” He spread his arms.

“THEN IT IS A GOOD THING THAT I CARE VERY LITTLE FOR YOUR EMOTIONS.”

Popsicle, as if noticing his owner's pain, drowsily rose to his paws and pressed himself against Webber's legs. The boy scratched around Popsicle's ears, which in turn caused the ice hound's tail to pound against the ground happily. “No, you're right. It's a dumb idea.”

“That's not what I was sa-”

“IT REALLY IS.”

I glared at WX, who only shrugged. I shook my head slightly, then attempted to meet Webber's gaze. “I was an only child,” I said gingerly. He lifted his head slightly. “Raised by parents who wanted me to accomplish more than I could, or even cared to. I had As in every science and math class I took, while flunking every single history and literature class. They wanted me to be a doctor or a mathematician. I wanted to be an inventor.” I looked away, acutely aware of WX's judging gaze burning into my face.

“How did that lead you here?” Webber asked, his voice muffled as if he didn't quite care to know the answer.

I smiled slightly, trying to hide the discomfort that I felt stemming from the question. The scar on my palm seemed to burn. “We all make stupid decisions when we're desperate.”

A long, painful moment of silence passed.

“I HAVE FEW MEMORIES OF LIFE BEFORE THIS.” Webber and I both glanced at WX as he spoke. He was gazing into the sky through the trees, one arm grasping on to another as if he were uncomfortable. “BLANKNESS AND JUDGEMENT.”  
“And loneliness,” Webber added solemnly. He rested his chin on his knees, closing his eyes for a long moment. I gave a small nod, and WX sighed heavily.

“AND LONELINESS.”

“But what's in the past doesn't matter anymore.” I shook my head fiercely, trying to bring myself back to the present. “I only brought that up because I don't want you thinking that we would leave you behind.” I knelt in front of Webber, resting on hand on his cheek in an attempt to comfort him. I stood once more, facing WX. “Once we are free, we'll all stay together in a safer world. I can bring you to my little lonely home out in the woods and we can act like a family. A very dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless.”

I could see something glinting in WX's empty gaze, but he looked away and shifted his feet before I could tell what it was. His hands shook very slightly. “I DO NOT ASSOCIATE WITH INFERIORS OUTSIDE OF WHEN IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.”

“It's dumb to think we could be more than any of us are.” Webber gripped a rock and threw it at a tree. “Your world isn't like our world, Wilson. You were shocked to see someone like us. When-... if we ever get out of here... nobody will be okay with our presences. It's a nice thought, but nobody would let someone like us or WX live free lives. Either way, we're slaves to someone else.”

“Webber, you're only seven... it's unfair for you to think that you wouldn't be accepted anywhere. You have such a long life ahead of you...”

“Two corrections. We would have had such a long life if we hadn't ended up in the situation, and we are eight, Wilson.” He shifted slightly. “Our birthday is towards the middle of spring.”

I felt my heart constrict. I didn't have any idea when his birthday was, nor that it had already come and gone. He hadn't let on even the tiniest hint.

“THE TRUTH IS, WILSON,” WX cut in. “BEING FREED FROM THIS WORLD WOULD ONLY BE THE BEGINNING OF THE STRUGGLE. BUT... THE DISCUSSION HAS GIVEN ME ENOUGH TIME TO CONSIDER MY STANCE, AND ANY SITUATION WOULD BE MORE APPEALING THAN OUR CURRENT ONE.”

Webber let out a long, thin breath. “It's settled then.” He looked away, making a shooing motion with his hand. “Wilson, you should probably be figuring out how we're going to keep cool during the summer. It'll be long, hard, and very hot, probably hotter than any summer you have ever seen. So hot that all of the berries and grass will dry up and all the sensible prey will be resting underground. Nothing but the sun is required to set our entire livelihood on fire.” His eyes seemed to glaze over slightly. “The savannas will be rotten with the smell of rotting rabbit meat as they journey from their burrows to eat and burn to death almost instantly.” He bit at one of his claws.

“I'll get started on that,” I said in response, trying to ignore everything else that he had said. “WX, I guess that leaves you to gather materials for the upcoming season. Webber, do us a favor and look through that book to find everything you possibly can about summer, okay?”

They both nodded, concern creeping into their eyes.

“This might be one of the hardest challenges yet,” I added. “But that won't stop us. It can't stop us. We're better than Maxwell and any of his dumb tests.”

“And if we're not?” Webber's whiskers twitched.

I replied steadily. “Then we die trying.”


End file.
